


Thereafter

by TinderWulf



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-02-04 11:34:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 25,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12770187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinderWulf/pseuds/TinderWulf
Summary: Following the war, Shepard falls into desk work. And an unexpected romance with her commanding officer.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own anything. All belongs to Bioware.
> 
> Not beta read, please ignore mistakes.

The cleanup was going slow. Especially now since the relays were once again operational and species had returned to their respective home systems. Not that Shepard could blame them. She still had the Normandy's crew, at least for now. None of them seemed to want to leave Shepard's side. For that she was grateful.

The Normandy was grounded though. There was still too much damage to her. Shepard was sure the geth would have her operational in a few months’ time. That meant that Shepard had a desk job for the time being. And yes, she hated it.

She had a few new scars, but she was fine. Well, mostly fine. Walking was still hard and tiring, but her stamina grew every day. The tension in her muscles was not fine. She was going stir crazy.

“Shepard,” Hackett said by way of greeting as he entered her office on the Citadel. “I've got more numbers for you to look over.”

Shepard groaned as the muscles in her neck convulsed with the added stress. She really hated this job, no matter how temporary.

“Sit, Shepard.” Hackett ordered. 

Shepard obliged. She was too tired to argue. Hackett made quick work removing Shepard's uniform jacket before his warm fingers massaged the base of Shepard's neck. She didn't know how long she sat there as her body slowly relaxed under her commanding officers hands. Quite frankly, she didn't care. Everything was a mess. On Earth and on the Citadel.

It became routine every evening when Hackett brought a new datapad over for her to read. Numbers and shoulder massage.

–

Meetings with other leaders were stressful for all involved. By the time they'd finished with the last meeting, Shepard had missed dinner and the artificial sun had set. When she returned to her office, she was surprised to find Hackett standing at her desk, unpacking meals that smelled suspiciously like burgers.

There were no words, only Shepard's hums of pleasure as she slowly ate her burger. How long had it been since she'd eaten anything other than an MRE? There was honestly no telling. During their hunt for Collector's probably. When Shepard had a personal chef that loved to cook for her. How she missed Gardner some days.

After clearing her desk of the trays, Hackett wordlessly handed Shepard a datapad that made Shepard wrinkle her nose. Hackett chuckled at her obvious displeasure as she took the vile electronic from his hands. Shepard's distaste quickly turned into a sigh as Hackett once again divested Shepard of her uniform jacket and began massaging her neck and shoulders over her regulation t-shirt.

–

“The Citadel is coming together quicker than we anticipated,” Councilor Sparatus commented during a weekly meeting. “The Geth have been a huge help with repairs and filling the ranks in C-Sec.”

“Good,” Shepard replied. “How are supplies holding?”

“Most excellent, Shepard,” Councilor Tevos replied with a genuine smile. “Once again the geth came through for many of our factories that were still standing. With the relay’s working, we’ve got a steady stream of supplies.”

Shepard sighed, grateful for good news after so many years of bad. “Have the Salarian’s chosen their next Councilor?” Shepard continued when both leaders gave her the negative. Humanity hadn’t either. Anderson was still recovering from the trauma Shepard had dealt with a single gunshot. “Okay, then we just continue as usual, I suppose?”

“Yes,” the Councilors said in unison.

“Oh, Shepard?” Tevos added. “The krogan are asking for a seat on the Council. We would like your opinion on the matter.”

Shepard snorted unprofessionally, that was easy. “Urdnot Bakara, the most level headed krogan I’ve ever met. Urdnot Wrex second, but Bakara would be perfect.” Shepard smiled at Tevos’ nod and continued out of the temporary council chambers.

The asari were paying for the crimes of withholding a prothean beacon, but Shepard knew Tevos hadn’t known about it. After weeks of talks, the remaining leaders agreed to let Tevos continue her work, though her leaders would be fined heavily. Shepard thought the heaviness of guilt they felt from the loss of life because they withheld the information was punishment enough. The war could have been won so much sooner.

On her way toward the transport station, Shepard decided to visit Zakera Ward. Just to see how the ward was faring.

When she came through the security checkpoint, she heard a familiar voice. Shepard smiled as the door opened, “Commander Bailey!”

“Shepard!” Bailey said as he turned to shake her hand. “How the hell are you?”

Shepard gave his hand a strong shake before slapping the aging man on his shoulder. “A helluva lot better than you it looks like. Back to C-Sec?”

“No, just lending a hand. Council orders,” he said in an overdramatic whisper that made several C-Sec recruits stand straighter. “Apparently, C-Sec needs more discipline.”

“I see,” Shepard said in reply. “Perhaps you should have the officers that give you trouble help out in the Elcor birthing unit. They always need volunteers.” Shepard did her best to keep her tone in a conspiratorial whisper when a turian officer visibly paled. “Just tell them I sent them over like we did with the last one.”

“You got it, Spectre!” Bailey said loudly before pushing Shepard on her way. “Now get out of here, I know you’re a busy woman.”

It wasn’t until Shepard dropped in to her favorite weapons store that she realized she was being followed. A young turian, probably about six or seven by human standards. He was a small thing. A darker grey than Garrus, striking violet eyes, and white colony markings. Shepard quickly looked around for the kids parents but she saw no one with the same markings. That wasn’t unusual now though. It was possible he was being raised by relatives.

What was a little unnerving was that the child just stood there, staring. Before Shepard could open her mouth to ask the kid where his parents were, an exhausted looking asari stumbled through the gun shop door with relief quickly overshadowing her fear.

“Goddess, you are a quick child,” the asari said as she was catching her breathe.

The child that had been eyeing Shepard with those beautiful, hopeful eyes, suddenly keened as his eyes drifted down to the floor. The asari quickly scooped the boy up and began singing to him as she left the store.

 _I’m Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the Citadel._ Now you work?

“Shepard,” Etarn said, startling her. “That young boy was presenting himself to you, hoping you would find him, by turian standards, good enough to adopt.”

“What?” Shepard said as she jerked around to meet Etarn’s eyes.

“His family is dead. All of them,” He added, his subvocals portraying his sadness. “He wants you to be his mother.”

No, she couldn’t possibly adopt a turian kid. She stared at the man before her, his expression serious, but heartfelt. He’d lost his legs in the war. Shepard knew he’d lost more than just his legs. She hoped someday that his former enthusiasm would return. 

“Then it will be done.” Shepard knew she wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about the child, not after his heartbroken keen. She desperately hoped Grunt wasn’t going to be too upset.

“I knew I could count on you, Shepard.” Etarn said, his voice filled with relief. “Spirits bless you.”

“And you, my favorite shopkeeper,” Shepard said as she walked out of the shop in search of the asari.

Etarn’s reply was a raspy chuckle, “Damn straight, Commander.”

\--

It was easy enough to find the asari. “Wait!” Shepard called out as the asari pressed a button to call a transport vehicle.

The asari turned with a small smile on her lips, “Yes, Commander?”

“I’d like to adopt this boy,” Shepard said as she tried to calm the tingling in her legs from her fast-paced walk.

The asari’s mouth opened and closed several times before blinking away her shock. “Of course, Commander. Follow me please. I’m sure your Spectre status will have this fast tracked and Mr. Maxus Tobias will be home before the Citadel’s sun sets.” The asari talked the entire way to the makeshift orphanage about how much she enjoyed the new sun set feature of the Citadel. Shepard hoped she made the appropriate noises in regards to the asari. She couldn’t help but be distracted by the tiny hand gripping her fingers tight.

\--

“You’re late, Shepard.” Hackett said as a way of greeting without looking up from Shepard’s desk. He’d been spending more time there during working hours. It was easier than running back and for to each other’s offices, she assumed. Poor Kelly had enough work than to have to run back and forth all day for them.

Hackett had been staying in apartments on the Citadel that were reserved for visiting officials before the war. There had been quite a bit of damage to the building but they weren’t inhabitable. His occupancy didn’t stop the keepers from moving in though. Shepard had offered her spare upstairs bedroom to Hackett while his building was under keeper control. It wouldn’t do for Hackett to use Grunt’s bedroom.

“About that, Sir,” Shepard started. “I may have adopted another kid.”

Hackett chuckled, probably thinking Shepard had brought home another full grown krogan. His eyebrows shot up when he saw the shy turian child hiding behind Shepard’s arm.

“I’m just waiting on his case handler to send me the rest of the documents and his belongings.” Was it possible to be more embarrassed? She sighed internally. Of course she was embarrassed. She was a hardened marine. Apparently, with a huge heart.

Hackett just shook his head with a smirk, “I’ll let Kelly know to prepare Grunt’s bedroom.”

Shepard quickly made introductions before leaving her new son with Hackett while she grabbed the food on the table against the far wall. Hackett had seemed to make it his personal mission to make sure she ate. He would stare at her until she did. His stare was somewhat intimidating if she was honest with herself. She’s _Commander Fucking Shepard_ , but Hackett has superior code.

The work they were doing today was hardly classified. Mostly numbers on rebuilding efforts, estimates on supplies for the building. Very mundane things. The numbers rarely changed. But the scene before her did as Hackett pulled young Maxus on his lap and asked the young turian to read him the information on the datapad. Probably for Shepard’s benefit.

As Shepard was tossing her MRE wrappings into the recycle bin, Sparatus walked in and halted in his tracks as soon as he realized there was a turian youngster reading to humanities highest ranking military official. His mandibles twitched in amusement before he shook his head and fully entered the office.

“Shepard, I came to drop off the newest estimates on the Citadel.” He paused only long enough to drop the datapad in Shepard’s inbox. “I see there’s a new addition to the Shepard clan? I caught a glimpse of an adoption request a few hours ago, I should’ve known you were the human applying to adopt a turian orphan. Especially since a Spectre approved it.” There was no disapproval in his voice, only kindness.

“Bau actually approved it, Sir. I didn’t think it appropriate to fast track my own adoption request,” Shepard added as she rounded her desk.

Sparatus nodded, a human gesture. “I’m assuming the child presented himself to you and you couldn’t refuse?”

Shepard chuckled, “Got it in one, Councilor.”

Shepard quickly read over the newest report while Councilor Sparatus introduced himself to Maxus. It was easy to get lost in the numbers. The estimates improved somewhat, once again thanks to the geth.

“Shepard, I can have my assistant send you his family files. When she has time, we’re all spread thin right now. It’s important for a turian to know where they came from,” Sparatus paused. “And what their family died for.”

“I would greatly appreciate anything you can send to help me, Sir.” And she was sincere. She really was grateful. She had no clue what she was doing.

It wasn’t long until Hackett declared it was time to go home. Today had been an easy work day. They were becoming more and more frequent. That didn’t help Shepard’s longing for her ship though.

Maxus was quiet on the ride home. In fact, him reading to Hackett had been the only time she’d heard his sweet, shy voice. He was an excellent reader though. The asari, Neela, whom helped Shepard with the adoption recommended that Shepard keep Maxus out of school for a few days to adjust to his new home. And to become familiar with Shepard. So, it looked like her son would be shadowing her.

As soon as they entered Shepard’s apartment, Maxus took off to explore his new home. “It looks like Kelly has been here,” Hackett commented with a nod to the new food on the kitchen bar.

Shepard excused herself to head to her room. She was about to panic. This was a _huge_ deal. Far more important than anything she’s ever done. Grunt? He was easy, already full grown, knowledge already in his brain. She leaned over the sink in her private bathroom and quickly splashed her face with cold water. She was close to hyperventilating.

“Shepard.”

_Hackett._

She didn’t fight him when he quickly pulled off her uniform jacket and pressed his chest to her back. “Breathe with me, Shepard. Calm down.” He breathed slowly against her ear. “You’ve done far more insane and impossible things. Maxus is half grown, he’s already got a strong foundation.” Shepard met his eyes in the mirror. “You are just going to do for him like you’ve done for every other person you’ve brought under your wings.” Hackett began rubbing the muscles in her shoulders as Shepard’s breathing slowed. “Add to him, teach him. That’s all, Shepard.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“Steven.” Hackett requested.

“Steven,” Shepard repeated, her voice weak, but her inner strength renewed.

With one last squeeze, Hackett released her. “Good. Now let’s get Maxus situated and fed. And you might want to let Grunt know that his bedroom is being used.”

That would be a disaster, Shepard thought. She quickly sent Grunt a message and his reply was instant. Shepard laughed out loud. Grunt was excited. He had someone new to teach about the Aralakh Company.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving ladies and gents! Enjoy an update while I'm taking a much needed break from cooking.

The pain shooting through her leg and hip woke her abruptly. The pain was intense, almost dizzying. She groaned in agony as the muscles twisted and convulsed.

Then heat, glorious heat along the entire length of her leg.

“You over did it today, Shepard.” Hackett said as he lay next to her and massaged the cramping muscles through the heat press. “You can’t do that right now. You’re still recovering.”

“I know, Sir,” Shepard said between shallow breaths.

Hackett sighed against her ear, “Steven.”

Shepard nodded as the throbbing pain slowly subsided into a dull ache. Hackett wiped the sweat from her brow.

“I’ve been living here for two months and you still don’t use my name. You’re always formal,” Hackett complained quietly.

“Habit,” Shepard whispered. “There’s a nuclear device we need recovered, Commander. We have a situation that only you can take care of, Commander.” Shepard said in her best imitation of Admiral Hackett. She could feel his smile against her ear at her poor attempt. “Yes, Sir, we’ll take care of it. Of course, Sir, you can count on me.” Hackett outright chuckled. “You’re quite demanding…Steven.”

“The Alliance is demanding, Shepard. But…you really were the best suited for those missions.”

The pain lessened with each passing minute, Shepard couldn’t help but be lulled to sleep by the heat and massage that was slowly making its way up her hip. Then his hand stilling on her hip and his nose resting against the bottom of her ear. It had been a long time since she’d fallen asleep with another person in her bed. But she knew she was safe with him.

\--

“Miss Shepard?”

Shepard’s eyes opened and she was fully awake before her name was finished. The first thing she noticed was her new son looking quite bashful. The second thing she noticed was Hackett’s arm around her waist and his face buried in her hair, his long even breaths telling her that he was still sleeping.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Shepard asked quietly as Hackett’s arm tightened around her waist and pulled her closer to him. It wasn’t unwelcome but she sure wasn’t used to it. It was…strange.

“I’m not used to the noises yet,” Maxus said as he tucked his chin down in shame. “They keep waking me up.”

Waving him over, Shepard arranged the blankets and the other pillow, Hackett sharing Shepard’s, “Let’s get some sleep, son. We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.” She couldn’t help the way her heart clenched when her son fell asleep holding her hand. Her heart felt so full that it might burst from the overflow.

It didn’t take long for both the males breathing lullabies to pull her back to sleep.  
\--

There was whispering over her head. It took a few seconds for Shepard to understand what was happening and that she wasn’t in danger.

“Mr. Admiral? When will my mom be awake? I’m hungry.”

The bed shifted behind her, “Let’s get you some breakfast,” Hackett stated as he left the bed, leaving a chill against her back. “I’ll show you a trick to get your mom out of bed. She’s pretty grouchy if there isn’t coffee waiting for her. Well, even when there is.”

Shepard couldn’t help but smile as their voices faded. Then realization dawned on her.

_He’d been waking her up with coffee._

No wonder her alarm never jerked her from sleep. The smell of coffee drifting upstairs was all she needed apparently. How did he figure that out in such a short time living here?

Shower. A shower was a must. Shepard’s mind quickly shifted to her work day. She really needed an assistant. Poor Kelly was having to assist Shepard and Hackett and it was too much for one person. Though since Hackett moved in, it seemed to have helped Kelly quite a bit.

“Glyph?” Shepard called as she rinsed the last of the soap from her body.

“Yes, Commander?”

“I need a list of personal assistants looking for work. Search the employment agencies first.” Shepard said.

Glyph gave his normal affirmatives as Shepard toweled off. The little VI would have a list to Shepard’s omnitool before she finished her first cup of coffee.

The walk down the stairs was a little slow. She grimaced at the stiffness in her calf. It wasn’t that she was unused to pain, it was just the fact that her muscles had deteriorated during her stay in Huerta Memorial. The physical therapy was a slow process to rebuild her muscles. Not unlike the efforts to rebuild all over the galaxy. The pain from physical therapy was different than the pain from battle. At least she thought it was.

Walking the wards yesterday had more of an impact than she had thought.

“See, Maxus? The coffee is the secret to get the Commander out of her bed,” Hackett teased as Shepard limped by with a mock glare. “How’s your leg this morning, Shepard?”

“Stiff,” she replied as she poured her coffee.

“You need to take it slow today,” Hackett returned with a squeeze to her shoulder.

Coffee in hand, Shepard turned and placed a kiss to his cheek, “Yes, Dad.”

Hackett snorted with humor, “See, Maxus? Grouchy.”

A smiled formed with Max’s small laugh. The kid was nervous, she knew this had to be hard on him. She’d have to check her terminal later for the information Sparatus was supposed to send over. Shepard hoped there were holo’s of the kids family in it.

The list Glyph sent was huge. There were a lot of people looking for work. Including Sparatus’ mother? Well, that was interesting. Her qualifications were amazing. Shepard quickly added her to the list with several others.

“Glyph, notify these people and schedule them for interviews today,” Shepard ordered before she drank the last of her coffee.

“Of course, Commander.” Glyph replied.

They gathered their things to head to the transport station. Shepard received a few confused looks from turians that noticed her escorting Maxus, but they didn’t say anything. The majority of the people that lived on the strip left Shepard alone. Whether it was out of respect or fear, Shepard wasn’t sure. She appreciated it either way.

Kelly greeted them as soon as they entered the human embassies, “Admiral, Commander, here are your schedules. Shepard, Glyph rearranged your schedule today for interviews.” Kelly looked overworked. “I went ahead and rescheduled a few meetings and got this week’s itinerary prepared.”

“Thank you, Kelly,” Shepard said as she took the datapad. A closer inspection of Ms. Chambers showed Shepard that she was relieved. Her work load will drop in half. Shepard kind of envied her.

While Shepard quickly scanned her day, Kelly spoke with the Admiral before following him into his office. Maxus stood quietly next to Shepard.

“Well, son. Let’s get to work, shall we?” Shepard asked with a squeeze to Max’s hand.

Having Maxus there had been a huge benefit Shepard hadn’t expected. Some humans were still hung up on Shanxi. They were quickly scratched off of the list. Finding an assistant was more difficult than she anticipated. Some were star struck, they were also scratched off of the list. Did they not teach professionalism anymore?

With a sigh, Shepard looked at the last few interviews on her list. A young human male, turian female, and a volus. With a quick rub to her temples, Shepard activated the intercom. “Send in the next one, Kelly.”

“Yes, Commander.” Kelly replied.

The human male was fairly qualified, but he was also twitchy. A lot of people were, but Shepard needed someone that wouldn’t faint when she was a little more…coarse. The volus was very knowledgeable, but he didn’t want this job. At least that was what Shepard seemed to feel. Instead of just marking this one off, Shepard was blunt with him. The volus was blunt in return. Shepard appreciated that. She sent him off with a few job referrals. There were better places his skills could be put to use.

The last one was Sparatus’ mother. The one she truly wanted simply because of her job experience. But, there could be a conflict of interests.

Maxus was sitting on the table behind Shepard, kicking his legs as he played on his omnitool. His manners were the best Shepard has ever seen.

“Commander,” the turian said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“And you as well, Mrs. Sparatus.” Shepard replied. “Please have a seat.” Shepard wasted no time getting to the interview. “What are your thoughts on my having a krogan and turian son?” A part of the assistant’s job will be to entertain Maxus if she was in meeting when he got in from school.

“It would be shallow to judge you for taking in an orphan, even if he isn’t of your species. There are too many children without homes to complain about who you bring into yours,” Vala Sparatus replied.

 _Excellent._ “This job will require you to go where I go, including political peacekeeping missions on the Normandy. You will need to be able to balance my standing in the political community as well as my standing in the Alliance. Plus, being a Spectre could mean I am called out at a moment’s notice. Will that be an issue for you?”

“No. I have nothing here that needs me to be here all the time,” Vala answered.

Shepard nodded. Turians were very adaptable. “Now, being the mother of Councilor Sparatus could pose a problem with your loyalty. Should I be concerned about a conflict of interests?”

“No. My son will always be my son. It is true that he is the voice of the turian people, but only on the Citadel. My son takes his orders from the Primarch, whom you know. I could have easily applied for work at the turian embassies, but the turians didn’t lose as many people as other species during the war. Our people owe you a great debt, Commander,” Vala continued, her voice sincere. “As an older turian, it’s my duty to go where I’m needed most. Humans and Batarians were hit the hardest. You were the first to schedule an interview.”

Shepard stared at the woman for several minutes before speaking. “This job will require you to view classified documents. My background check will take time to complete to give you access to assist me in Spectre affairs with Specialist Traynor. When aboard my ship, I expect you to wear the Normandy uniform.” Shepard paused, thinking. “My ship, while officially Alliance, is a Spectre vessel. That means there are several species on board. I don’t expect you to turn your back on your government, but I do expect your loyalty to me and my crew.”

Vala raised her hand to stop Shepard. “There is no need, Commander. You are very turian after all. My loyalty is to you, your crew, and your ship.” Vala laughed softly. “I’ve known Garrus Vakarian since he was born. I can tell you, Commander, that it takes a lot to earn the trust of a Vakarian. That you have earned the trust of not just one, but three, tells me everything I need to know about your character.”

Shepard released a breathe she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “The job is yours, Mrs. Sparatus. When can you start?”

“Yesterday,” she said with a smile. “And call me Vala.”

With a few orders to Kelly, Shepard returned to her desk. Kelly would get the woman situated. It was doubtful it would take long for Vala to become familiar with everything, if her resume was anything to go by.

It wasn’t long before Vala came in with Shepard and Max’s lunch. What was odd, was that Hackett wasn’t behind her. He’d had lunch with her in her office for months.

“Vala, where is Admiral Hackett?” Shepard asked as she helped Maxus with his plate.

“He’s stuck in a meeting, Commander, but Ms. Chambers said he planned to join you as soon as he was done. I left his meal in the heated cart.”

“Thank you. If Kelly didn’t tell you, you get an hour lunch.” Shepard said as she removed the lid from her plate.

“She did, Commander. You can ping my omnitool if you need me before lunch is over,” Vala said with a small salute before leaving the room.

She would work out nicely, Shepard decided.

If it wasn’t for the hunger pangs she was feeling, she would wait for Hackett. But damn it if she wasn’t hungry.

\--

It would be hours before Hackett came trudging into her office, clearly exhausted. “The meeting went that well?”

“Elcor.” Hackett stated.

It was all that needed to be said. Elcor were slow to speak. It wasn’t their fault, but it was pretty frustrating to species who were used to quicker…well, everything. The scents they put off weren’t easy to deal with either.

Vala rushed in and placed Hackett’s meal on Shepard’s desk where his chair had remained so long that it left her room bare if it were moved. The tired man wasted no time digging into his plate.

Shepard was up and behind his chair before the door to her office closed. With the man’s help, she quickly removed Hackett’s jacket, a first for her. Usually it was him that took care of her, though she didn’t know why.

A groan rumbled in Hackett’s throat as her fingers tried to release the tension in his shoulders. She was sure it was difficult to chew and be massaged at the same time, but he didn’t complain. It took minutes for him to inhale his food, a soldier’s talent no doubt. With a sigh, Hackett leaned back and let her work while his head rested against her breasts. He was tired, she could tell.

“We need to get Maxus transferred to his new school,” Hackett said quietly. “Something close to work preferably. He’ll need protection detail, too.”

Shepard was surprised. _We._ She quickly shook the thought from her mind as her thoughts started racing. She hadn’t even thought about school yet, at least not outside of aftercare with Vala. She knew all of his medical files were in order. “Who can we get for protection detail?” Shepard asked as her thumbs worked up his neck in circles.

“I’ll look into it when we get home,” he replied. “If you’re work is done, we can go ahead and head that way. Take out for dinner?”

Shepard snorted, “You just ate.”

“I could go for more and it’s nearly dinner time.” Hackett said, his voice somewhat rough.

Shepard quietly gathered her things while Hackett zipped up his uniform jacket and helped Maxus gather his datapads. The young turian had spent his day reading or playing on his omnitool. Shepard wasn’t sure what he was reading but the asari, Neela, had said it was some of the belongings that had been left in his family home. His family’s collection of books.

Allowing Hackett to escort her out of her office, Shepard said goodnight to Vala and Kelly. The ladies would finish what they were doing and be free to leave. Probably the only plus side of working as assistants to two high-ranking and demanding officials.


	3. Chapter 3

The three decided to call in their order from home. They were all tired and Shepard was beginning to ache from being hunched over in her chair all day. She would likely need to soak in her hot tub to help loosen her muscles before bed. Shepard eyed her lounge wear in disgust, she was going to have to invest in clothing that covered her waist better. An old Alliance shirt and shorts it was.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Everyone was too tired for conversation. Especially Maxus. He may not have physically challenged himself today but mentally was another story.

“Will I take your clan name?” Maxus questioned suddenly.

The fork froze halfway to her open mouth. “Do you want to?” she asked.

Mandibles twitched while Max looked up at Shepard and back to his plate. Shepard at to strain to hear his answer. “No. I’d like to keep my family name.”

Such big decisions for a young lad. “Then it’s settled, Maxus Tobias,” Shepard said with a smile.

Max’s head shot up, “You don’t mind?” He asked, almost begged.

“No, of course I don’t mind, son.” Shepard replied softly.

His mandibles spread in a toothy grin before he returned to his meal, eating with much more enthusiasm. He cleared his plate in no time and bounced off to his room making Shepard chuckle. She assumed he would be asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow. Excitement would steal the last of his energy.

“That was nice, Shepard. I’m sure he’ll appreciate that as he grows older,” Hackett said as he slid his empty plate away. Shepard quickly scooped it up and added it to the dishwasher with their morning dishes. “You should go soak. I’ll check on Max then come up and see how you’re doing.” Hackett held up his hand as soon as Shepard opened her mouth. “Don’t argue. I saw you trying to work out the twinges on our way home.”

It was a bit childish she supposed, but she growled before slowly making her way up the stairs to her bedroom. Being taken care of was hard on her pride.

But the heat was amazing.

She didn’t soak long, she was too sleepy to safely be in the hot tub for long. She just pulled her night shirt over her head when Hackett entered. “He’s asleep. Lay down.” He never wasted words.

There was a small, undignified squeak from her when her heated skin met the cool sheets. She usually loved that feeling, but her muscles were not fans right now.

“Lights off,” Hackett called as he laid next to Shepard and pulled a heated blanket along her back.

This type of care was going to spoil her. She knew it was temporary. Eventually, she would be back to normal or Hackett’s apartment would become available again. Then he would be gone and there would be no one to make sure she ate, she thought, feeling a twinge of emptiness. But none of that mattered right now, not when his hands helped the heat loosen her muscle in her back and neck.

“Only you can over do it while sitting down, Shepard,” Hackett mused.

“Jane,” Shepard replied with a sigh and a smile.

Hackett chuckled softly, “I guess if my career in the Alliance falls through, I could always become a masseuse.”

The laughter bubbled up and out as Shepard thought about Hackett doing such a job for a living. It didn’t suit him. “Then you better work on your bedside manner,” Shepard said with a small chuckle.

“Sleep, Jane.” Hackett whispered as continued to loosen her muscles.

\--

The dreams woke her up. They still came, though not as frequently as they used to. Hackett was sleeping next to her, the heated blanket cooled. Shepard wasn’t sure what time it was, but since she was awake she decided she might as well check on her son.

The walk down the stairs was so much easier after Hackett had helped loosen the knots. The floor was cold, it was always cold. Shepard peeked into the room to see Maxus sleeping soundly. She didn’t want to wake him by entering the room, or adjusting his blankets. He needed the rest, and Shepard wasn’t covered enough by turian standards. She should probably grab a robe next time she padded downstairs.

Walking quickly across the floor, Shepard cursed and promised herself to invest in rugs. Or at the very least, house shoes.

With a quiet sigh, Shepard slipped back into the warmth of her blankets. Hackett turned and pulled her to him as he mumbled something she couldn’t understand. His warmth soothed her. She could hear his heart beating steadily with her head on his chest. It was a sound she found peace in. Proof of life. Perhaps it was a marine thing, or maybe she’d been so relieved every time she heard the proof of life that her body took that as a signal to relax. She didn’t know. But it made sleep easy.

\--

The movement made her whine, the hoarse chuckle made her slap at empty air. It was still in the night cycle.

“My arm is numb, Jane,” words whispered against her hair.

With a huff she rolled over, shivering at the cold. His arm quickly held her bare waist and pulled her up against him. Warmth. “So warm,” she sighed. The warmth was wonderful. As sleep pulled her under, she thought she felt wet pressure against the back of her neck.

\--

Kasumi would never learn. Of course, it didn’t help that Shepard didn’t tell her how she knew she was there. Quickly, Shepard reached out and jerked the cloaked woman down to the bed, surprising the thief.

“How do you always know, Shep?!” Kasumi laughed as her cloak fell.

Shepard smiled as she opened her eyes, “If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you. And I just like you too much for that, Kas.”

A male voice behind Shepard made them stiffen. “You know when I fantasized about having two women in my bed at one time, it wasn’t like this,” Hackett stated matter-of-factly. “And I was half my age.” Both women burst into loud laughter which made the man chuckle as well. “I’ll start the coffee,” Hackett said as he pulled himself from the bed.

Shepard hugged Kasumi, “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Kasumi replied. “I just thought I’d see how you were doing while I was on the Citadel. Is your therapy coming along okay?”

With a sigh, Shepard sat up and moved to the edge of the bed, “It’s slow but I’m told that’s normal. The worst part is all the muscle cramps.”

“Hmm,” Kasumi mused with a small smile. “What’s this I hear about my new nephew?”

The ladies gushed over Maxus as they made their way down the stairs. There was no where they needed to be today. Shepard watched as Kasumi sat down next to her son and introduced herself as Auntie Kass. It wasn’t very often the thief removed her head covering, but in the safety of Shepard home, she did so. They shared coffee and caught up before Kasumi had to leave.

The offices may not be open for business but that didn’t mean everything else was closed. Hackett declared that they would go visit Anderson after they got Max transferred to his new school.

Getting him registered in a new school was easy enough. Though, they tried to argue the need of protective detail. Please, like she was going to send her child to school without protection. It may not be known that Maxus Tobias was a Shepard, but it would be out eventually. The turian director finally relented and allowed Shepard two escorts. Shepard hoped the woman didn’t mind krogan.

The day was enjoyable, especially seeing that Anderson was up and ornery, but Shepard wasn’t used to being on her feet for so long. She was worn out. She knew the exercise was good for her, she just tired far too easily.

“Alright, let’s get your mom home and get some lunch,” Hackett stated. “Your school stuff should be delivered soon.”

With a yawn, Shepard fell into step the best she could. Her stride was smaller than it used to be. It was hard keeping positive, but Shepard knew she’d be back up to par soon enough. Then even Maxus would have trouble keeping up.

They piled into the transport and set course for the strip.


	4. Chapter 4

The next few weeks fly by in a flurry of activity. Max starting school, the shock of the turian school director’s face when a smiling Maxus was escorted by a krogan and a geth. Shepard still laughs over that. One of Urdnot Bakara’s loyal sisters was sworn in as the krogan Councilor, leaving Bakara in charge of Tuchanka, which was for the best. Shepard had high hopes for the krogan people.

Every person, former and present member, of the Normandy came by to visit Shepard as she continued to gather strength. Anderson had rejoined the ranks of Councilors as soon as he was cleared to work. He had physical therapy to do, but he was alive. And quite happy to be Councilor after the war took all of his physical fight out of him.

The evening was supposed to be lazy, but Shepard had a hard time sitting still. She left Hackett to his war documentary while she checked in on her son. Max had adjusted well and absolutely adored his big brother Grunt.

“Hey, Baby,” Shepard said as she walked in his room.

The studying turian looked up briefly, “Hi, Mom.”

Shepard laid next to her son on his bed to see what he was studying. Naturally, it was in the turian language. Those dreaded spelling tests, she assumed. Shepard listened to him mumble to himself for some time before her eyes began to close. _Your stamina improves every day, Shepard._ At least she hoped it did. Giving her son a small headbutt to his temple, Shepard forced herself up. “If you need help, just call out,” she said as she headed for the door.

“I will,” Max replied, but his mind was already back to his studies. It was a lot like watching Garrus with calibrations.

With a smile she returned to her seat on the couch and plopped her feet on Hackett’s lap in a not so subtle request. Her feet weren’t used to jogging. _They ache so bad._ Shepard smiled and closed her eyes as Hackett began rubbing her foot. He hadn’t even taken his eyes of the documentary. “Jane, your feet are freezing,” Hackett said, his eyes still glued to the vid.

“I keep forgetting to buy house shoes. Or rugs,” Shepard said as he tried to rub some heat into her feet.

As soon as the show ended, Hackett was out the door to get their dinner. It would be a lie to say Shepard stayed on the couch. Instead, she went ahead and took a quick shower. She checked in on Max again before moving to her terminal to check her messages. She still got messages from Sparatus’ assistant about the Tobias family. She saved everything and then sent a back up to Liara. Everything they sent was given to Maxus. He had holo’s all over the apartment of his deceased family, and his seventeen year old brother, who was missing in action. Shepard hoped they were at peace and that the brother was found for Max’s sake. Missing were still being found all over the galaxy.

“Stop feeling guilty for something you couldn’t control, Jane,” Hackett snapped, startling her out of her thoughts.

She tried her best to let the guilt go. It was nearly forgotten when he presented a gift bag to her. “What’s this?” She didn’t wait for him to answer as she opened the bag and tossed tissue paper aside. “Are you serious? Varren slippers!?” She couldn’t stop the huge smile as she tried on her prize. Of course they fit. And they were cozy.

“No one would believe ‘The Great Commander Shepard’ wears varren house-shoes,” Hackett said as he chuckled. “Come on, it’s time to eat.”

If she were self-conscious, she would blush. But she wasn’t. And she loved the damn slippers. Tomorrow she was supposed to take a break from physical exertion. Guess what she was going to wear at work? On second thought, that probably wouldn’t go over very well.

Their dinner was pleasant, as it always was, and the three cleaned up together. Shepard should probably learn to cook, but seriously. Heroes shouldn’t have to cook. Hackett had been a bachelor for no telling how long. One would think he’d have learned to cook, but he didn’t mind eating MRE’s all the time. Now that she’s thinking about it, he didn’t start bringing home food or groceries until she complained about having to eat those packaged meals.

“Maybe we should hire Gardner to cook for us,” Shepard said aloud as she tossed the wet rag into the sink.

Hackett nodded his agreement, “I’ll see if Kelly knows where he is tomorrow.”

It wasn’t that they couldn’t afford to eat out all the time. They were just tired of the same few restaurants. Months of the same food. It was starting to taste like an MRE. Shepard needed home cooked meals and she knew Gardner cooked dextro too. Plus, she trusted him not to poison her.

Shepard quickly looked at her incoming message on her omnitool. There were set-backs on the Normandy’s repairs. Some supplies were in short supply and the geth were estimating another two months. Shepard sighed, she knew this was normal, especially now. There were only so many geth and their first order of business was food and water. Fuel came next. But mines and other factories related to the mines were still being restored. The materials just weren’t there.

“Shepard?” Hackett asked, concerned.

Shepard smiled and waved him off. He’d get the same report. Perhaps it was time to send her crew home until the Normandy was closer to being complete.

It wasn’t long until Shepard tucked her son into bed. He was asleep in minutes. If she hadn’t known how much Garrus could sleep, then she’d probably be concerned.

When Shepard made it upstairs, Hackett exited his room on a mission. “Anderson needs to see me. I’ll return shortly.”

Then he was rushing off to probably give Anderson a second opinion on some classified information. She hoped it wasn’t anything bad. She’s had enough bad to last her a lifetime, or two in her case. She wasn’t in any shape anyway. Plus, her ship was stuck in port.

The bed seemed bigger than she remembered. Hackett usually went to bed with her. The muscle cramps were less frequent but they did happen. Hackett was right there calming her and trying to work out the cramps when it happened. She couldn’t imagine having to go through that alone again, unable to work the muscles loose on her own. All she could do was groan while her entire body shook from the stress of it. And cry because she was all alone. Though she would take that to her grave.

The emptiness of the bed didn’t stop her from falling asleep. Staying asleep was another story.

Hackett never came to bed. And she slept horribly. It was hours before she had to be up, but she’d had enough of trying to get some rest. With a grumble, she threw the blankets off and slipped her feet into her slippers. It was unlikely Maxus would wake until his alarm went off, so Shepard didn’t bother dressing. A short black tank and her short N7 exercise shorts were damned good enough. She wanted coffee, and she wanted it now.

When she got to the kitchen, there were two Alliance officers at the bar, sipping _her_ precious coffee. She growled when they both turned to look at her. How could they be so bright and chipper at this hour?

“Sleep well, Shepard?” Anderson asked, humor lacing his question.

Slamming her cup down a little harder than she intended too, she replied. “Does it fucking look like it?” Both men suppressed laughter, neither a bit put off at her state of undress or lack of manners.

That first sip touched her soul and warmed her core. When she opened her eyes, they were both staring at her with smirks. It bothered her. “What the hell is so funny?”

“Oh nothing,” Anderson quipped. “It’s just, the first time Steven is gone all night working, and you wake up like…well, you look like shit, Shepard.”

Shepard growled again, refilled her cup before turning towards the stairs. “Fuck you!”

Their laughter followed her all the way to her room.

Men were absolutely ridiculous. Especially Alliance men.

\--

Staying awake was becoming difficult. Vala had taken to leaving the door open just to peek on her and ‘startle’ her should her head start drooping.

The last jolt was enough. “Vala, have the coffee shop send some coffee. I’ll be back in an hour and I’m going to need caffeine.” She was supposed to take it easy today but she needed to get her blood pumping. A quick workout to get her heart rate up was what she needed.

No one bothered her while she was at the C-Sec gym. Shepard wasn’t sure if it was because of the dark circles under her eyes or the fact that she growled at them when they thought about approaching for a chat.

It was noisy. Grunts and strained breathing all around her. She’d missed that. When her omnitool pinged, she knew her hour was up. With a sigh, she left the gym floor and headed to the locker room. Where Hackett was waiting by her assigned locker. He didn’t look too happy.

“Shepard,” he said in a low grumble.

“Admiral,” she replied tiredly, without saluting.

“You were told to take it easy today by your physical therapist.” He commented sharply.

With a sigh, she stripped and redressed, his eyes never leaving hers. He wanted an explanation. “I needed to get my blood pumping. It was only an hour and I didn’t push it,” she returned as she finished lacing her boots.

He followed her out. Instead of going their separate ways, he continued to follow her all the way back to the embassies. And to her office.

“Commander, your coffee will be here shortly,” Vala said as she handed over datapads.

“Thank you, Vala.”

As soon as the door closed behind them, Hackett spoke softly. “I know there are delays on the Normandy and that it upset you, but she will be fixed soon and you can go back to doing whatever you do.”

Shepard laughed humorlessly, “I really don’t want to go back to beating impossible odds on suicide missions. I’d take just getting to be in the stars once in a while, on my ship.” Shepard sighed, somewhat defeated. “Your ship.”

“She’s your ship, Shepard and I have no intention in taking her from you.” Hackett stated matter-of-factly. “It will just be more political and less fighting.”

“I know.”

Shepard plopped down in her chair only to realize a nearly cooled meal was in front of her. “I forgot about lunch,” she stated.

“Yes,” Hackett returned before sitting down to his own cold meal.

“I’m sorry,” Shepard said, and she meant it. She looked forward to these lunches.

Hackett squeezed her hand, “It’s okay, Shepard. It’s been a very long day for both of us. Hopefully tonight we can both get some rest.”

Of course he was tired. He hadn’t slept at all. Shepard briefly thought of asking what he and Anderson were going over during the night, but she decided not to. It was likely classified, or even just to catch Anderson up on everything that was happening.

The lunch was tasteless. She was too tired to enjoy it. Her body felt good, the tiredness in her muscles from the light exercise. They just had a few more hours to get through and she could fall into bed.

\--

As soon as they arrived home, Shepard told Hackett to go to bed. She’d had more sleep than he’d had. He was barely walking. They’d been spoiled with sleep these last months after the war. Shepard knew she’d have one hell of a time adjusting to being a marine again. An active duty marine.

She’d order dinner, sit him up long enough to get him to eat, then let him go back to sleep.

“Max, you want to go with me to get some dinner?” Shepard called towards the young turians room. She chuckled when he met her by the front door. “What do you feel like tonight, my boy?”

“Can we go to that place on the Zakera Ward?” Maxus asked.

Honestly, she was tired of all the food on the strip. Surely the Zakera Ward would offer something a little different. “Sure.”

Compared to the strip, Zakera Ward was quite dim. Of course, it didn’t house huge arcades and fighting sims.

They stopped by two places to order their food before walking around a bit. Shepard briefly wondered if Hackett had been able to find Gardner. The pair stood by the window and watched traffic go by before returning to the restaurants to get their food. There were curious glances but no one approached them.

On the way back to the transport, Shepard stopped by the gift shop and bought Maxus a model turian ship like the one his mother had died serving on. The asari behind the counter gave Shepard a knowing look before she nodded with approval. Shepard would likely have to special order a model of his fathers last ship.

\--  
It took Shepard a confused few seconds to realize that Hackett wasn’t in his bed. He was in hers.

Getting Hackett to sit up on his own was difficult. Shepard ended up kneeling behind him with her legs on either side of him on the bed while he ate his dinner from the tray Shepard had put in front of him.

“Just get it inhaled and I’ll stop bugging you,” Shepard said with a chuckle.

Hackett did as he was told, then he was leaning against Shepard, half asleep, while Shepard wiped his mouth off. If she weren’t so tired she’d probably laugh about the situation. Then she managed to get him back into position in bed. It was no easy task. Hackett was easily a head taller than she was and Shepard was still pretty weak.

Bedtime couldn’t come soon enough for Shepard. But she couldn’t contain her relief when she went to tell Maxus it was time for bed, but he was already asleep. She pulled his covers up before leaving a kiss on his temple. He truly was precious.

The walk up the stairs just made her more tired, her legs feeling heavier with each step up. But soon enough, she was falling into her bed. Hackett was still sound asleep, she truly hoped her body aches didn’t wake her, or him, up through the night.


	5. Chapter 5

When she awoke it was still into the night cycle. A change in the air.

Someone was here.

Hackett still lay sleeping next to her. She carefully unwrapped his legs from hers while grabbing her pistol. She crept out of her room as quietly as she could. Crossing the top floor quickly, she took the stairs closer to her son’s room, seeing no movement, she slowly began to descend.

The kitchen light came to life, and a loud belch broke the silence.

_Grunt._

With a frustrated sigh, she flicked her pistol back to safety on. Sometimes she wanted to kill that kid.

“Grunt, you’re supposed to let me know you’re coming. You know, so that I won’t accidentally shoot you,” she said as she entered the kitchen.

“Sorry, Battlemother,” Grunt said sheepishly.

Shepard gave him a rough scratch under the chin before speaking. “Maxus is sleeping in your room, any way you can bunk in Hackett’s bed tonight?”

The young krogan quickly nodded before his head shot up, “Where’s Hackett?”

“He’s in my bed,” Shepard said, making Grunt’s eyes widen in surprise. She couldn’t help but laugh. “I wake up a lot with muscle spasms and it’s easier if he’s right there to help me.”

They quickly said goodnight before Shepard went back to bed. She briefly wondered if she’d get uninterrupted sleep again before the Normandy was finished. She barely got under the covers before Hackett pulled her to him and trapped her with his legs. Who knew the battle hardened Admiral was a teddy bear. She really couldn’t complain. It kept the nightmares mostly at bay and the body heat helped with her muscles.

\--

She awoke slowly. It was wonderful waking like this. No EDI telling her there was a mission, no Cerberus to interrupt her. Just slow, peaceful awakening.

The only non-peaceful part of waking up was realizing she was laying on her commanding officer, and drooling on his chest. With a groan, she sat up on her elbow and wiped the drool off of her cheek.

“I didn’t need a bath, Jane,” Hackett teased with a rough voice.

Shepard lightly smacked him. “Shut up…Steven.” He laughed at her embarrassment. Drooling. She sighed, she must have been more tired than she thought. “Before I forget, Grunt is here. He’s borrowing your bed.”

“Okay,” Hackett said. “Max doesn’t have school today, and our offices are closed so what do you say we go talk Gardner into becoming our chef in the evenings?”

“You had me at ‘Gardner’,” Shepard joked as she rushed out of bed and into her closet while doing her best to ignore the muscles straining. “Family outing!”

She heard Hackett chuckle as he grabbed some pants from the clothing rack behind her. She didn’t realize he’d moved his clothes into her closet. Not that she was complaining, she was so grateful for him being here and if she was honest with herself, she’s grown rather fond of him. “Hey, if you aren’t using the spare room anymore, do you mind if Grunt takes it over?”

“Let him have it. You’re a full time job,” he said before quickly ducking out of her way and briskly walking down the stairs. Officers never ran, even if they were running away. “The coffee is on,” he called up behind him.

Grunt and Maxus were already in the kitchen having breakfast when they joined them. Shepard just closed her eyes and enjoyed the males talking. Grunt didn’t come by often. He was busy learning the new krogan way of life. Shepard was glad he made time for her every few months.

“You’ve gotten lazy, Battlemother,” Grunt commented between bites.

Without opening her eyes, she gave him a small smile. “I’ve earned it.”

“More than most, I think,” Hackett chimed in. “All right boys, time to head out.”

They started at the arcade. Maxus won himself a new volus plush and Shepard scored a shotgun mod, which she gave to Grunt. Shepard desperately wanted to go to the battle sims, but she knew she was nowhere near ready for that kind of physical assertion.

After the kids started growing bored, they piled into a skycar to dine at the restaurant that Gardner was apparently working at. Kelly had reported that it was just a regular run of the mill diner. Gardner was capable of more than that. But then, there weren’t a lot of fine dining places open again yet.

“Good afternoon,” the startled asari said. “Please just take a seat anywhere and someone will be right with you.”

They weren’t busy. It was that beautiful time between lunch and dinner when most people were working. “We’d like a word with the chef before we order,” Shepard said to the asari as she fell in behind her children.

“Of course, Madam.”

She mentally cringed at the term ‘Madam’. It just sounded so unpleasant.

They waited quietly before Gardner came stumbling out of the kitchen, his apron covered in grease. He looked tired. It bothered Shepard far more than she anticipated. He deserved a hell of a lot better.

“Well, I’ll be damned!” Gardner called as he approached their table. “What brings you down here, Shepard?”

“You do,” she replied with a smile. “I want to offer you a job.”

His eyes widened in surprise, “What kind of job? On the Normandy again?”

“No,” she chuckled. “My personal chef.”

When his eyes got bigger, Shepard was sure she was going to have to push them back into his head. His mouth closed with an audible snap and Shepard knew the negotiations were coming.

“One credit more an hour than they’re giving me here,” Gardner said as he crossed his arms.

She smirked, “You see, Gardner, I know your skills. I’m prepared to triple what you make here. Five days a week.” His mouth opened and close several times before Shepard continued. “Plus, a credit chit to buy whatever ingredients you need.”

“Deal!” Gardner yelled, startling a lone customer. “Give me a few days to let them find another cook.”

They exchanged omnitool codes, his being a new one, and Shepard handed over a credit chit for the groceries he would need. They decided to go ahead and get their meals to go. Shepard was sure that the owner would not be too pleased with her coming in and plucking him out of her kitchen.

They walked through the wards and did a little bit of shopping before finding a spot to eat their meals in a garden. The meal was a quiet affair. Grunt and Max were playing a new game they picked up while Shepard and Hackett just enjoyed the peaceful area.

It was hard to believe this garden had been covered in shrapnel six months ago. The keepers had seemed to clean this area up faster than living spaces.

With a sigh, Shepard let Hackett help her up. She was a little achy, but mostly tired. The doctor said that was normal. She just can’t wait to _feel_ normal. Her normal.

The four walked slowly back toward transport station. Shepard really wanted to go check on her ship, just to see it at least, but she knew that it wouldn’t make the repairs go faster. And she wasn’t pretty to look at right now. Shepard was glad her crew survived the crash landing. That had truly been a blessing. One of many after the crucible firing.

She didn’t say much on the way home. The men did enough talking for her. She was just feeling melancholy. She’d push through it like she’s pushed through everything else thus far. It’s what she was built to do. Push and survive.

When they got home, Grunt and Maxus rushed off to Grunt’s old room to move his things to his new room. Then they would likely go back to the game they bought.

Shepard went directly to her hot tub. Her muscles needed a soak.

It wasn’t until her toes were wrinkly did she get out. She dug out the lotion her physical therapist gave her. It smelled like peppermint and she didn’t like it. But it was specifically for her muscles. She took a quick sniff hoping it had weakened in scent. It had not. She tossed it behind her and grabbed her preferred brand.

“Do you always throw medical lotion at your roommates,” Hackett asked as he came around the bed into her line of sight. She briefly realized she was naked, but he didn’t seemed fazed. He even kept his eyes on her face. “You need to use this.”

“It smells disgusting. I’m not going to use it.” Shepard dared him to make her use it. She really disliked peppermint.

“I see,” he replied, but he didn’t argue.

She was glad. The last thing she needed was to give Max and Grunt headaches because the smell was so strong. She knew it would give her a headache, and her sense of smell wasn’t nearly as strong as theirs.

Shepard fell asleep that night listening to the boys playing games in Grunt’s room. To say it was amazing was an understatement. Her heart beat for that krogan and turian.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter, my apologies!

Six weeks pass without incident. Hackett still slept in her bed. She still slept awful when he had to pull an all-nighter. Maxus was doing great in school and none of the other turians bothered him about having a human as a parent. It probably did help that it was because of who she is.

The repairs on the Normandy were coming along nicely. Crew were beginning to return and supplies were slowly being loaded. Garrus was the first to come back, naturally. His home was the Normandy too. The turian didn’t mind being the right hand of the Primarch but he missed the lines in his algorithms. Shepard was incredibly excited. She wasn’t used to being in one place for so long.

One by one her crew reported in and as the time frame for completed repairs crept up, Shepard had a full crew. Everyone returned. She wouldn’t be able to thank her crew enough. And since they were near Earth, all the human crew had positions within the Alliance when the Normandy was docked. This was helpful since they didn’t know how often the Normandy would be needed at this point.

As for Shepard, she was nearing one-hundred percent. She still had the occasional spasm but it wasn’t nearly as bad as they had been. Her strength was returning and her energy levels were back up to near normal. If she had to rate where she was, she’d say pre-collectors. She spent as much time as she could at the Spectre range. She’d lost some skill and had to retrain somewhat, but she knew it could be a lot worse. Especially with the injuries she’d had in her arms. All that remained from the reaper war, were some wicked looking scars on her arms, and a few scattered across her body. She could have them removed if she really wanted to, but they were part of her. Part of the fight, of loss, and victory.

“The closer we get to the Normandy’s test flight, the harder it is to get you to focus,” Hackett said as they made their way upstairs for bed.

“I can’t help it, it’s been a huge part of my life for a long time.”

He squeezed her shoulder as they entered the room, “I know, Shepard.”

Shepard had found out, from Kelly, a few weeks prior that Hackett’s apartment had been completed just a two and a half weeks after he moved in with Shepard. She didn’t say anything to him. He stayed because she needed the help. Yes, he could have gotten someone she trusted from the crew to stay with her and take care of her midnight muscle cramps, but he chose to stay and do it. If he wanted to leave, he would’ve done so. Hackett isn’t the type to mince words. That he chose to stay made her heart flutter.

\--

 

The workload she had at the embassies had begun to decrease. It was a week until they did a test run that would last a week. Shepard spent half her work day going over manifests and inventory for the Normandy while checking in with her crew. Everything was running smooth.

A few geth would stay with the Normandy for her test run. Just in case they ran into trouble.

Maxus would be staying with Hackett while Shepard took her ship out this first time. Later on, tutor pending, Maxus would get to join Shepard on the Normandy. Occasionally. The vessel would be used mostly for political meetings as a neutral ground. But Shepard was sure that the Normandy would be the first called for other things. A Spectre ship and Vega’s 'N' training ship. It’ll be interesting.


	7. Chapter 7

Two days into the run and Shepard was getting restless. She didn't sleep well without Hackett. And she missed her son.

The QEC helped, but it wasn't the same.

The Normandy's crew was somewhat restless too. Granted, it was stressful for them all to make sure the ship was running at peak performance. Without an actual mission, they were all on edge.

Everyone except Garrus. The turian was far too busy getting his gun back to where he had them. His jovial mood helped lessen the stress off all those around him.

Who knew Shepard would miss the routine of office work? And Hackett. She really missed him, too.

Vala kept her busy with her Citadel work and Traynor with the Normandy work.

The time passed quickly.

Shepard was always the last off of her ship, outside of Joker. But the pilot was getting better since EDI's mobile platform had been repaired.

The sight that greeted her was perfect.

Hackett with his half smile and Maxus holding a bouquet of flowers as he bounced from foot to foot waiting for her. Max took off as soon as he spotted her and Shepard caught him mid-leap before swinging him in a circle.

“I've missed you, Max!” Shepard said as she squeezed him into a human hug.

The young turian sighed and relaxed into her as he breathed in her scent, “I missed you too, Mom.”

It was enough to make her eyes water. There was no shame in it so she didn't bother to hide it from Hackett or any other civilian onlookers. Most were smiling in the docking bay. A few turians mandibles twitching in amusement at the boys’ obvious adoration of his human mother.

“We got you flowers,” Max said as he pulled back and presented them to her face. Literally. “Dad said they're your favorite!”

Her heart warmed when she pulled them back enough to see that they were her favorite. How Hackett, no _Dad_ knew, Shepard had no clue.

“They're beautiful,” she said softly as she pressed her brow to her son's. _I love you._

On their way to the transport, Hackett got a message from Anderson. “Sorry, Shepard. Anderson needs to see me.”

She was disappointed, but she didn't let him see it. “I understand. Grew up in this life, remember?”

“I know,” Hackett said with a small smile as he gave her shoulder a squeeze and brushed his lips against her brow. “I'll take the elevator and meet you at home.”

“Aye, Aye, Sir,” Shepard said with mirth as they parted ways at the transport station.

The ride home was filled with chatter as Maxus filled her in on all that she missed. Hackett had messaged her frequently, but Maxus was just too thrilled to fill her in. Shepard pretended she had no clue as to what happened, or rather lack of activity, happened in the week she was gone.

It was pretty late in the evening when they walked into their home. Gardner had already gone home but left their meals in a warmer for them. Maxus grabbed his plate and sat down while Shepard put her flowers in a vase she assumed had been there since Anderson and Kaylee lived there.

The two chatted quietly as they ate but Maxus couldn't hide his yawns as he finished his food. “To bed, Max, and I'll see you in the morning,” Shepard said softly as she hugged him.

After making sure her son slept, Shepard made her way upstairs and quickly stripped down to her underwear. Yoga had helped keep her muscles loose. It was almost meditative going through her routine as her body slowly began to relax. An hour later and she was ready to shower and fall into bed.

Stripping completely, she pressed the button to turn her hot tub into a shower. A shower head moved out of the wall as the glass floor covered the hot tub below it. She left the harsh lights off allowing the glow from the hot tub to be her guide.

It was a quick shower, although it added to her relaxation.

Hopefully Hackett would be home soon so she could sleep better.

–

Warmth pressed against her back as wet pressure tingled against her neck.

She sighed sleepily, “I missed you,” she mumbled.

“I missed you, too,” Hackett replied as his hand rested on her hip.

Sleep was always restful with him there. Most nights.

* * *

_The stench of death burned her nose. Body parts, rotting and swollen, littered the tunnel._

_The recoil of the gun she held that released a round into Anderson._

_Again._

_And again._

_And again._

* * *

“Jane, it's okay,” Hackett said shaking her awake. She sobbed and gasped for air as she dug her nails into his arms. “David's alive, honey, he's okay,” he whispered as she stared up at him.

Mentally gathering herself and forcing her breathing into a natural rhythm, she noticed he lay between her legs with his forehead pressed to hers. She'd likely woken him with her thrashing and he'd had to restrain her. Shepard hadn't had nightmares since they’d brought Max home months ago.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered as she tried to calm her racing heart.

“Shh,” he replied. “They happen.” They lay still for several minutes as she calmed down. He rubbed his nose against hers with a smile, “If I move are you going to hit me again?”

She absolutely did _not_ want him to move off of her now that she was thinking about it. And especially since she could feel his arousal pressed against her.

“If you get off of me without kissing me, then yes, I will definitely hit you,” she whispered as she raised her lips to his.

It was all the invitation he needed, apparently, because his lips met hers with a force that said he'd been starving. She moaned into his mouth as warmth pooled into her core. Shepard whimpered when he pulled back.

“If I kiss you more...” Hackett started, but Shepard was already pulling his shirt over his head. “Shepard...” he tried again.

“Jane,” she interrupted with a smile as she ran her fingers over his toned chest and stomach. “I really want you to show me how much you missed me, Steven.”

Much to her delight, and intense enjoyment, he did just that.

–

Trudging down the stairs Shepard heard the hushed voices of the Admiral's. Maxus must still be sleeping. Which was good because she didn't think to throw on a different top. It was hard enough to put her crop top on without coffee.

Judging by the sympathetic look Anderson gave her, Hackett must have told him about her nightmare. Instead of being angry, she just kissed the Councilor's temple and was grateful he was alive.

Hackett passed her a cup of coffee but before she could get half of it down, she noticed David's open-mouthed stare. And the twinkle in his eyes. That was never good. She knew her hair wouldn't be telling, she'd haphazardly pulled it up.

“Aren't you a little old for hickies, Shepard?” David asked with a barely contained smile.

“What?!” She near screeched before turning to Hackett with a glare. “You left marks where people could see?!” Shepard eyed them both with her best Commander glare before turning back to the stairs. “I really dislike both of you in this moment!”

Once again, she retreated to their laughter. Damn men. Those two were barely more than teenagers when they were together. Which would be a lot more now that Anderson had moved in next door. And damn it if she didn't adore Anderson. Gah!

Making herself presentable, she made her way back down the stairs. One cup of coffee wasn't enough. Anderson was still there, talking to Maxus. Shepard leaned over and gave her son a quick kiss on his brow as she rounded the counter. Hackett offered her another cup of coffee, though he was clearly amused. She wasn't going to go out of her way to hide the marks by wearing uncomfortable clothing or makeup. Instead, she gave him a smirk, a quick kiss on the lips, and stole the coffee right out of his hands. She gave her surprised admiral a wink before turning to the bar to catch up with her son.

Commander Shepard was back. And it felt amazing.


	8. Chapter 8

If you had asked anyone, the day hadn't been any more special than any other. But she trusted her gut instinct more than any intel that ever came across her desk.

“Something's coming,” Shepard said to no one in particular. Though Hackett was the only other person there.

“Jane?” he asked as he lit up his omnitool and typed out a short command. “I've notified Max's guards. What is it?”

“I don't know,” she said honestly. “I just feel that something is coming.” Standing, she breathed slowly. Trying to pinpoint something. Anything. But she couldn't. There were no current threats in any intel. Very few pirates. “Vala!” she called as she paced in front of Hackett.

“Yes, Ma'am?” Vala replied as she entered.

“Tell the Councilor's to tighten security,” Shepard ordered. “I'm going to Anderson.”

“Yes, Spectre, lock-down commenced,” Vala replied as she rushed to fill her orders.

That woman always knew what title to call her, no matter the situation. Shepard was already clipping her armor into place and checking her weapons when Hackett stood.

“What do you want me to do, Spectre?” he asked as she grabbed extra clips.

“Inform C-Sec and keep in touch with air-traffic control. Have Bailey inform any Spectre on the Citadel. Regroup on me. I'm moving Anderson to secondary chambers,” Shepard replied as she opened the door to the secret tunnel that would take her to her charge.

His 'Aye,Aye' and the soft click of the door shutting followed her down the hall as she took off in a run.

It turned out that the secondary location was for all Councilor's. Which pissed her off.

“Shepard, what's happening?” Tevos asked, shaking in fear.

“What the fuck?! I said secondary location for each of you,” Shepard growled. “Cerberus and the Reapers may be dead, but that doesn't mean you get lazy!” She calmed herself, this was something to take up with their body guards. “If this were a drill, you'd all be dead.”

“What's done is done, Shepard.” Anderson said calmly. “What's the emergency?”

“I don't know, but my gut says it's big. Whether it's good or bad, I can't say,” she replied.

She expected for them to roll their eyes or laugh in her face but no one moved.

[Bau to Shepard, come in.] a voice called in her earpiece.

“Shepard here, what's the situation?” she asked.

[LADAR shows twenty ships of various sizes heading to the Citadel. Already informed C-Sec.]

Fuck. “What signatures?”

[Verifying now.]

Shepard could hear only Tevos' rapid breathing. “Anderson, she's about to have a panic attack,” she whispered. The man nodded before taking the asari to the side to calm her.

[Turian, human, quarian, and volus. Possible pirates?]

“It's possible,” she replied as her mind went through possible scenarios. “Inform traffic control not to power up defenses until the last possible second. Unless they fire or try to board us.” Twenty ships was no match for the Citadel, but she didn’t want to fire on friendlies.

[Orders confirmed.] Bau replied. [Long-range communications failed. Trying again.]

Shepard informed the room what was happening while they waited for information.

They waited impatiently as Shepard checked in with everyone.

_Orders followed, Spectre._

_Yes, the school is on lock-down._

_C-Sec is ready for anything, Commander._

_The embassies are locked-down, Spectre._

_Council's families are moved underground._

_The school lock-down was done is secret. Your son doesn't realize what's happening._

[Shepard, getting messy short-range communication.]

She growled as she waited. Waiting was not exactly her strong point. Especially with adrenaline running through her body and no way to focus it.

[Survivors! Quarian's found them. Bringing them here. Closest. Many species.]

“Thank the spirits,” Shepard said. “Keep an eye on it, Bau.”

[Understood.]

Switching channels, Shepard hailed Bailey, “Bailey, I want C-Sec at the docking bays Citadel Control is approving for these ships. I want the men on guard at all times and I want your best detectives verifying information from each ship.”

[Yes, Commander.]

Hailing Citadel control, “I want the docking bay numbers sent directly to Commander Bailey, then I want each ship locked down. I don't care if you do it as soon as they are in, just get it done. Do not lift the lock-down until I say.”

[And who the fuck is this?] the human snarled, apparently not liking being ordered.

“Shepard,” she smiled when she heard his curse. “Consider it Spectre authority. I also want the bay numbers sent to Huerta Memorial's Doctor Michel.”

[Yes, Ma'am.] The man replied with a much more professional tone.

Once again switching channels, she hailed Doctor Michel, “We have incoming ships. Supposed survivors though we won't know for sure until they are in. I want medical teams at each bay being given to you. Do you think you can manage twenty teams?”

[Of course, Commander. All clinics are on stand-by. Orders will be out within five minutes of receiving docking bay numbers.]

“Thank you, Doctor.”

Turning back to her group, Shepard spoke. “Until it is verified that the ships are in fact survivors, you will be held here.”

Sparatus stepped forward, “Shepard, you should be there. If they really are survivors, they will need to see you.”

“I agree,” Anderson spoke next.

“And I,” Tevos said softly as the Valern nodded in agreement.

“And who the hell is going to make sure the leadership is safe?” Shepard asked.

“I will,” Hackett said as he came in the same door Shepard ushered Anderson through.

Bau came through another door, likely Valern's route. “I'm here to take your place, Shepard. I will keep them safe. Spectre to Spectre.”

Shepard chuckled quietly, “I guess I've been outvoted.”

“Before you go,” Sparatus said with an amused twitch of his mandible. “Inquiring minds want to know...”

“Know what, Councilor?” Shepard ask warily.

“Who your mate is?” Sparatus asked. “We _can_ keep it classified.”

Shepard snorted, “What makes you think I have a mate?”

“The mate marks on your neck,” Sparatus replied cheekily.

The room of people laughed as a blush moved up her neck and face. She groaned out loud as she tried to cool her face with her armored hands. How could it be so embarrassing? Damn turian. And of course it caught her completely off guard considering the situation. It just wasn't what she was expecting to hear at this moment. But if the turian councilor noticed...

Curiously, she turned back to look at Hackett and caught his victorious smirk. He'd marked her on purpose. Though, she won't deny enjoying all the sensations she was feeling during the process. She just...didn't expect them to actually be visible because they didn't really hurt. And yet, he made sure they were very visible. How very turian. Effectively laying claim. The three other council species would see it and recognize it as a claim. Several other species as well.

“You are one clever bastard, you know that?” she asked with a grin.

He winked at her before pulling her into a quick kiss and sending her on her way.

The echoes of congratulations to the Admiral followed her down the hall. But his reply to one of the guard’s remark's made her chuckle.

“How the hell did you tame The Great Commander Shepard?” a turian voice called, though not the Councilor.

“Haven't you heard? You can't tame a Shepard,” Hackett replied with humor in his voice. “They're a stubborn species.”

“I heard that!” Shepard said behind her before the door was secured.

Ah, thank goodness they couldn't be heard out of these tunnels, and there were many. They were highly secure, but Shepard was going to have to find some different locations. Having all the Councilor's go to the same location was not good.

It was incredibly stupid.

–

The docks were a flurry of activity. Docking Bay E24. It used to be familiar, back when it was filled with cargo containers. Now it was just a regular docking bay. One way in or out, officially, but big enough to dock two of twenty ships. Bailey must have conferred with Citadel control before assigning docking slips.

Easily noticeable in her signature N7 armor, Shepard stood near the door. Medical wasn't allowed in until C-Sec secured the area and ships. But she wondered if it was better if she entered the ships herself.

“Officer Harlon, have Citadel control tell the ships occupants to stay put while we secure things,” Shepard ordered to the officer in charge of the docking bay. “Spectre order!”

“Yes, Ma'am!” the turian replied.

Approaching the first ship, Shepard waited until the door turned green on her side, signally completion of pressure.

“Shepard, going somewhere?” a familiar voice asked behind her.

With a smile she turned to greet her dearest friend, “ _We_ are going to secure this ship, Garrus.”

The man laughed and easily fell in line as the door opened. “No Vakarian without Shepard.”

“No Shepard without Vakarian,” she replied easily.

Shepard pressed the button and waited for an answer. “Commander Shepard and Vakarian requesting entrance.”

The door opened immediately. While they were being run through decon, they readied their weapons. When the cycle completed, the duo were prepared to fight. The occupants inside, however, were weaponless and near starved. They were barely standing.

Tapping her earpiece she sent out a command, “Have medical outside and ready to receive.”

“You're alive,” the human said, unbelieving.

Perhaps the councilor's had been right. “Yes, and so are you.”

The man fell to his knees and wept. Shepard gave his shoulder a light squeeze before moving forward to secure the ship. It was easy enough. All occupants had their hands raised in the air. Most were too weak to fight. The person that seemed the healthiest was the pilot.

Making their way back to the airlock, Shepard told the captain to send as many as he could with Garrus, the weakest on the ship. Then she would take the next set and C-Sec would come take the rest so she could see to the other ship in the bay.

Garrus entered the airlock with a dozen people ranging from young teen to elderly. Then it was her turn. The captain refused, saying he would be the last one off his ship. Taking the next dozen, she entered the airlock for decon. “Shepard here,” she said. “Send C-Sec in to help get these people off the ship. Inform medical to prep beds.”

Exiting the ship, she came face to face with Bailey. “Commander, I've informed Spectre Bau and he's working on having Citadel restaurant's donate warm meals.”

“Excellent work, Bailey. I'm off to the next ship.”

It took over ten hours to secure the ships. Only because she didn't help remove people like she had the first ship. Between her and Garrus, it didn't take long. Though the larger ships took time. C-Sec helped quite a bit with it. The ships smelled awful and were over-crowded. The quarians that came across them helped the best they could but they had no way to grow anything other than dextro based foods.

The captain of the quarian live ship, filled with people they had just picked up from earth gave away their reserve fuels. And the closet place to go was the Citadel. The survivors they found were many different species.

A butterfly effect, she learned.

One ship came across another, then another, then another. All picking up survivors along the way. A fleet of survivors.

Currently, Shepard and Garrus, joined the councilor's as they went through to check on survivor's.

“Commander?”

“Yes, Doctor,” Shepard replied to the redhead. “Do you have a headcount yet?”

“You won't believe this,” she said excitedly as she handed over the datapad.

_General Update from C-Sec:_

_All ships empty, save the crew on the quarian live ship._

_All ships being cleaned and decontaminated by volunteers and dock workers._

_Total number of people transferred to medical: 1,879_

_No current fatalities._

“That's a lot of people,” Shepard said as she handed the datapad back. “What's the word right now?”

“Most have had an actual meal,” Doctor Michel replied. “Medication or vitamins have been given. While I know you would like to personally check on them, Commander, I think it wise to let them rest tonight.”

“Understood, Doctor,” Shepard replied. “I'll let the leaders know, but expect them in and out the next few days.”

“Yes, Commander.”

After speaking with the councilor's, and Garrus, Shepard grabbed a transport and headed home.

Shower and sleep.

The apartment was dark when she got home, but she expected it. It was pretty late into the night cycle. She quietly removed her armor near the bar. She didn't want to wake Hackett. After checking on Max, she made her way to her bedroom where Hackett was hogging the bed.

With a fond smile, she entered the bathroom and pressed the button for the shower. The hot spray felt amazing on her tired muscles.

_You're almost there, Shep. Just a little more time and work..._

Shepard nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt another hand massage the shampoo into her head. Hackett said nothing as he turned her back under the spray to rinse the soap from her hair. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to just feel the comfort and peace he brought her. Until he bodily pressed her against the wall to steal her water.

Her breathe shortened as arousal pooled into her core. Unable to stop the tremors in her hands, she ran them up his arms as his hands settled on her hips, his arousal pressing against her waist.

Then he pulled them back out of the water and turned her, his body flush against her back. She gasped, she couldn't help it. Then he was massaging conditioner in her hair. She opened her eyes seeing him pour her body wash in his hands instead of her loofah. It was easy to lose track of time as she whimpered and moaned as he washed every scar and curve. Once again she was being rinsed, his hands gliding over her skin as the soap washed down her sensitive body.

He dried her body and combed her hair with just as much care before he led her to their bed.

Come morning, she would have new marks on her skin.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been insane these last few weeks as I finished crochet orders, caring for my elderly landlord (plus her Christmas lists-she's bedridden), and prepped 3 households for Christmas. Being a family Alpha is no easy task! Does this make me a Matriarch at the ripe old age of 34?
> 
> I do hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I'm back on my normal schedule, until New Years (another shindig to host). Many blessings to you!!

Entering decontamination, Shepard prepared herself to meet quarian survivors. Without any doubt, Doctor Chakwas would be here assisting. She was highly qualified in quarian medicine thanks to Tali. And they would need the most help even with geth assistance.

What she didn't expect was to see quarians out of their suits.

How the hell was she supposed to recognize any of them without their suits? Granted, there were millions of quarians, but with Shepard's luck...

“Ma'am?” a voice to her left said. The lilt to his accent sounded familiar enough to kick up her heart rate.

“Kal'Reegar?” she asked, her voice cracking in astonishment, as she turned to the quarian before her.

“The one and only,” he replied. Before adding, “Ma'am” with a smile. A beautiful, maskless smile.

Unable to hold herself back, she held his bared face between her hands, “Tali is going to shit herself!” And then she hugged him. If anyone asked, she didn't shed a tear for her old friend. A friend that Tali was still mourning. Kal hugged her back without hesitation, not even slightly insulted that she touched his bare skin. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yes, Ma'am, thanks to the geth” he replied as they pulled apart. “Ready to see Tali.”

“It's _Jane or Shepard_ to you, brother,” she said with a smile as she wiped tears from her face. “Let me make some calls. I assume you're stuck in here for a few days?”

“Yes, Ma...Shepard,” he replied with a small smile.

“Do not contact Tali. I'm going to pull some strings,” Shepard said as she squeezed his shoulder.

“I fried my omnitool so that won't be a problem. It's good to see you alive, Shepard,” Kal said quietly.

Pushing down another wave of emotion, she replied, “No, Kal. We were told you were dead. I am beyond thrilled that you're alive. Tali...she will be too.”

Breaking away when the quarian doctor came, Shepard made her way through all the survivors. There weren't many quarians that needed medical attention. Only those that had been separated from the fleet. Those that hadn't had the geth to aid them with their health. Until now.

According to the geth on board of the quarian ship, the quarians that were picked up along the way had waited until they were over a week out from the Citadel to begin the geth program in their suits.

Only around a hundred quarians. Just to be sure they were near medical in case there were adverse reactions.

By the time she made it through the volus, which she wasn't allowed to enter because of their requirements outside of suits, and the batarians, it was time for lunch.

On her way into her office, she checked in with Vala, “What did I miss?”

Vala handed over a datapad, “Councilor Anderson requests you debrief the quarian captain.”

“Did he say why?” Shepard asked as she skimmed the datapad.

“Because of your former dealings during the war, I'm assuming, Commander.” Vala replied.

Of course Anderson wouldn't tell her secretary. It would've been nice, but it likely was because of her past with the quarian fleet.

“Okay, make an appointment for tomorrow and I need you to send a message to Tali. I need her back on the Citadel asap,” Shepard commanded as she turned to enter her office. “Oh, and I need the details so I can meet her at the docks.”

“Of course, Commander,” Vala replied as she typed the message out.

Her office was empty when she entered. Hackett was late. And so was their lunch. Instead, she sat at her desk to go over the preliminary debrief. Notes scribbled down by Anderson for her.

_Quarians gave all levo nutrient paste to survivors._

_Shared dextro paste and foods with turians._

_Tried to help with medical though there was little that could be done outside of levo medigel._

_Gave ALL reserve fuels to ships to make it to the Citadel._

_Risked their own health caring for dextro wounded._

_NO DEATHS._

_Notes: Need to be repaid somehow. Shepard debrief. Spectre decides, council will support. Ask Shepard if quarian government ready for council position and responsibilities._

Huh. These were Anderson's personal notes. He probably didn't have time to reword it, but then again, Shepard preferred short and to the point. Something a marine can appreciate where paper work was concerned.

“Sorry I'm late,” Hackett said as he put their food on her desk before giving her a soft, quick kiss.

“How's the fleet coming along?” Shepard asked as they began to eat.

“Slow,” he replied after he swallowed. “We find survivors every day from all backgrounds. Though we look for them. What the quarians did was...something else,” Hackett said before scooping up another bite of food.

“I think the only reason they refused to leave was because no one had long-range communications,” Shepard commented. “There's probably more to it, but it's awe-inspiring, nonetheless.”

“Agreed,” he returned. “What's next?”

“Turian survivors,” she replied. “That'll take the rest of the day.”

Hackett hummed in response.

When they finished their meals, Hackett cleared the desk and tossed the containers in the trash. Shepard hoped she could through all the turians today. As it was, it was going to take a few days to get through the remaining species.

“Already making mission plans and lunch isn't over yet,” Hackett teased.

“Well, if you'd rather I stay the full hour and come home when the house is dark again...” she was saying but he interrupted.

“While I know our jobs sometimes take away our bedtime routine, I will admit I slept horrible while you were gone last night.”

“Is that so?” she teased in return before getting up and slipping into his lap.

Wrapping his arms around her, he sighed happily. “Go before I take you home now,” he whispered before planting soft kisses on her face before meeting her lips.

–

The turians were glad to be somewhere familiar. Though some of them, barefaced, had never been to the Citadel. Shepard was relieved to see the other turians take them in as one of their own.

The barefaced range from Garrus' age to the Primarch's. The older were more wary of her than the younger, though they were all polite. All of them were very nervous around Garrus, Shepard noticed. At least until Garrus assured them that the Primarch was making arrangements to honor the barefaced and offer them the option of facial tattoos that were currently being designed.

They were understandably excited. You can't help who you're born to, after all.

It was the same routine with each bedridden patient. Check the medical datapad outside their door for a name. Enter, welcome them home, and thank them for fighting.

But one name made her inhale sharply, putting Garrus on alert.

_Derius Tobias. Age: 18_

“I'll contact Hackett and Sparatus,” Garrus said as he brought up his omnitool.


	10. Chapter 10

Entering the room in what felt like slow motion, she took the young man in. Same coloring as Max but his eyes were a different color. Same colony markings. He looked empty laying there.

“Mr. Tobias?” Shepard asked quietly.

“Unless you're here to tell me where my family is, leave me alone, Doctor,” he replied tiredly.

“Shepard, actually. Commander, not a doctor,” she replied as she sat on the edge of his bed as his wide eyes met hers. “What are your parent's names?” she asked, just to be sure. Her heart sank as he said them. “I regret to inform you, Sir, that your parents died serving on their ships.”

A sigh left the young turian as he looked away from her, “I assumed as much, but I wanted to be sure.” He paused before meeting Shepard's eyes again. “And my little brother Maxus?”

Shepard couldn't help but smile. Max had brought such joy in her life. “Max presented himself to me a while ago, and I adopted him.”

“I see,” Derius replied, his mandibles flickering against his face in distress.

Heart clenching at seeing him withdraw into himself again, she took his hand into hers, “I know you're an adult, Derius, but would you like to move in with Maxus at our home?” And it was probably something she should've discussed with Hackett before offering. Hopefully he would understand.

“Really?” he asked, his mandibles flaring out in surprise as his fingers twitched against her hand. “Usually, families don't want to let the adopted child see any family that may come out of the cracks.” He paused, thinking. “It's just harder for the kids to move forward and I'm too young to take care of him.”

“Yes, really. You are his brother and he needs you,” she said softly. “He misses you.” Shepard squeezed his hand, “And I'm not asking you to take care of him. That's my job, son. I'm asking you to join our family.”

His hand gripped hers as he tried to absorb information before replying. “Do you have other children?”

“Urdnot Grunt, krogan,” Shepard replied with a smirk. “If you will have us, we'd like to be your family too.”

She could feel his subvocals as he tried to contain his emotions. “I'd be honored, Commander,” he replied, his eyes shining with relief and happiness.

“Good,” she said with a big smile she felt in her soul. “Let's find a doctor and see if we can't get you out of here and back home,” she said patting his hand.

Before she could stand, Doctor Michel came bustling through the door with Doctor Chakwas.

“Commander, good to see you! I just came to check on our patient,” Doctor Michel said with a tired, but happy smile.

“Well, Doctor,” Shepard said as she shook the redheads hand. “How soon can I break my son out of this joint and get him home to his brother?”

Doctor Michel stood shocked, her mouth the shape of an 'o' while Doctor Chakwas burst into laughter. “Let me just update his medical file…and now yours,” Doctor Chakwas replied as she happily worked on her datapad, then omnitool. “We'll check him over and make sure he's fit to leave.”

“How many children do you have, Commander?” the shocked doctor asked.

A quiet chuckle escaped before she could stop it, not that she needed to. “I have three now.”

Doctor Michel's mouth opened and closed several times before deciding what to ask. “For how long?”

“As of a few minutes ago,” Shepard replied with mirth while Doctor Chakwas ran scans over Derius. “But if I bring anymore home, Hackett is going to make me buy a bigger apartment, and I really love the one I'm in.”

“Hackett?!” Doctor Chakwas asked, mirroring Michel's former look of shock. “That's who left those marks on you?”

And now it was Shepard's turn to be shocked. Thankfully, the man himself stepped in the door. “Yes I did, Karin,” he said with a smile before kissing Shepard's brow, a red blush creeping its way up her neck.

“Shepard,” Chakwas said with a small laugh that crinkled her eyes, “you never cease to amaze me. And, since this is a new event,” she added with a sly smile. “Your newest son is ready to check out and go home. Congratulations, Steven, it's an eighteen year old boy!”

The man laughed outright, “If she adopts anymore kids, I'll have to buy us a bigger place to live,” Hackett stated proudly making the room full of occupants burst into laughter.

–

All that she was able to get through was the less injured turians. Half of all of them.

Making plans with Hackett and Gardner, Shepard escorted her newest family member home.

“Silversun Strip?” Derius gasped. “High class, Commander!”

She laughed as the transport descended outside the apartment building. “You can call me Jane, or Shepard if you prefer. And your new home was a gift from the human councilor when he was fighting the reapers on earth.”

“I've always wanted to try the arena,” the young man said as he gave one last look to the strip before following her into the building.

“When you're cleared by your doctor you can have all the fun you want in the arena,” Shepard said as they entered the elevator. “Now let's get home and get you set up in your room.”

–

Derius joined Shepard in the kitchen as Gardner started dinner. She enjoyed watching the man cook. “Max will be home pretty quick, Derius.”

“I haven't seen him in a few years,” he replied nervously.

Shepard gave him a quick human hug, “He'd know you from a mile away, kid. Don't worry.” He relaxed somewhat, but his mandibles twitched at every noise. “Besides, it's likely you'll be dragged to the room for the rest of the evening so he can show you everything.”

As luck would have it, Hackett and Maxus walked in while Derius was in the bathroom. Max ran and jumped into her arms almost throwing her backwards with his momentum.

“Mom! I've missed you,” he said as he took in her scent.

“I missed you too, baby,” she replied as she hugged him tight. Looking up she noticed Derius standing nervously next to Hackett. “Listen, Max. Your dad and I brought someone home today.”

“Really?” Max asked, pulling back to look at her.

“I really hope you don't mind sharing your room with your brother,” Shepard said as she slowly walked towards the men with Max giving her his full attention.

“When do I get to meet him?” he asked with such innocence that it hurt her heart.

Setting him down and kneeling in front of him, she took his face in his hands. “As luck would have it, or maybe the spirits, you already know him.” she said as her eyes filled with unshed tears. “Turn around,” she whispered.

It was far more emotional than she was expecting. It took everything she had not to break at the sight of the two brothers reuniting. They keened and crooned and mourned. She didn't want to be there, but turning away was like saying their pain wasn't important. So she stayed. Hackett stood next to her, his arm around her in support.

These three boys were the closest she would ever get to having children. In a way, it was freeing. Not being held down by the ticking of a biological clock. No rushing to find a mate. She had Hackett, and three boys that would likely drive her insane at some point. She was happy.

Later that night she lay in bed next to the man who'd become far more to her than she ever expected. But, she needed him to know. “I can't give you children,” she whispered.

His fingers paused briefly before continuing to trace a scar on her arm. “You've given me three,” he replied.

“That's not what I meant,” she returned, her voice cracking under the emotional strain. “I'm broken, unable to have children.”

“And yet, you've given me three amazing boys,” he said as turned her face to his. “I knew from your medical files you couldn't have children, but I knew that wouldn't stop you.” He kissed her softly, “Adopt as many children as you want and I will still be here. Don't adopt, and I will still be here, Jane.”

It was the first time she allowed herself to cry in years. She didn't know why she did, only that it lifted a weight she didn't know she'd been carrying.


	11. Chapter 11

As soon as she heard from Tali about her arrival, Shepard and company spent the next two days in a flurry of activity. Shepard wanted everything to be perfect for Tali's arrival.

Somehow, Shepard had even talked Citadel Control into shutting down one docking bay and promising to make sure the quarian ship would be docking there on their arrival.

“Are you sure about this, Kal?” Shepard asked as they finished preparations.

“Yes, Ma'am,” he replied before chuckling at Shepard's fake glare.

When the time finally came, Shepard stood at parade rest awaiting for Tali to step off the ship. The small docking bay was crowded with familiar faces, Kal hiding among them.

It was difficult not to smile when Tali caught sight of her and walked straight for her. All Tali knew was there was an emergency. And a trusted quarian admiral was needed.

“Shepard,” Tali greeted with a hug, her maskless face warm and kind as she pulled away.

Taking Tali’s hands in hers, she began, “Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, do you take Kal'Reegar of the Migrant Marines to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love, honor, and cherish til death do you part?”

“Is this a joke, Commander?” Tali asked angrily.

“Say 'I do', Tali,” Shepard whispered.

Tali growled before rolling her eyes, “I do! Now what they hell are you doing?”

Shepard smiled brightly before extending her hand out to take Kal's, who'd snuck in behind Tali. “And do you, Kal,” Tali gasped and choked back a sob, “take Tali to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love, honor, and cherish until death do you part?”

“Keelah,” Tali whispered as tears fell from her cheeks.

“I do,” Kal replied, not once taking his eyes off of Tali.

“Then by Spectre and Captain authourity, I now pronounce you: Husband and Wife!” Shepard exclaimed. When the couple just stared at each other, Shepard coughed before leaning forward, “You may kiss the bride, Kal.”

The small crowd roared to life as cheers and catcalls rang out and bounced off the metal walls. When the two finally came up for air, Tali hugged Shepard with renewed vigor before thanking her. She knew that the human ceremony didn’t exactly fit, but neither did the quarrian ceremony of linking suits. That time has passed.

“But why didn't you tell me?” Tali asked.

“Some things have to be seen to be believed,” Shepard replied. “Plus, I needed you to take your survivors home,” she teased before remembering, “Oh! You need to sign some papers to make your marriage legal. Then you two have a beautiful Presidium honeymoon suite to enjoy for a week.”

They couple quickly read over and signed the documents before handing the datapads over to the legal team before Shepard transferred the room key and information to Tali.

“Thank you, Captain,” Tali whispered before hugging Shepard again. “I'm...I don't know.”

“Anything for my baby sister. Tali...” Shepard returned. “Just, don't send reports okay?”

The two women laughed. Tali had a small obsession with reports. “Understood, Captain.”

With Tali promising to get to know her nephews later during her stay, Shepard made her way to Hackett and her sons.

“How did you know that Tali would marry him so easily?” Hackett asked quietly as the newlyweds disappeared from view.

“Because she lived and breathed that man,” she replied easily. “She absolutely refused to believe he died. She said she'd feel it. He was everything to her. The reason she fought as hard as she did. And I knew she still pined for him, refusing to give up on him.” And Shepard knew that without having to ask. She'd never seen two people more devoted to each other in the short time she got to see them interact together. “Kal was ready to die for her when I met him, and that's all I needed to know to be assured my little sister would be in good hands.”

“You are an amazing friend, Shepard,” Hackett said as they made their way to the transport now that the excitement was over.

Unable to think of a reply, she brushed her lips across his jaw.

“Now what's this I hear about a Normandy match at the arena?” Hackett said as soon as they were in their transport.

“There's a few of my squad participating in a few charity matches,” she replied. To be honest she was excited about it. Maybe they could even break the scoreboard again.

“Who all is joining?” he asked as he slid his hand into hers.

“Myself, Garrus, maybe Tali and Kal, Grunt, Zaeed, Samara if she can make it, Kasumi, Legion, and Vega,” Shepard said as she thought hard about the last messages she received. Some people just couldn't make it, and Ash was pregnant so she was out.

“That's going to be too easy,” Hackett stated with a raised eyebrow.

Shepard smiled, “Which is why the enemies are at the hardest level possible and ammo is going to be limited.”

The last few days had been a whirlwind. Between visiting the survivors at the hospitals and preparing Tali's five minute wedding, there hadn't been time to sit around and enjoy the changes that had happened within their own family.

Kasumi and Garrus had come by to meet the newest addition and Shepard couldn't help but notice Derius had been a little star struck at meeting the top reaper adviser. Then the shock at learning that Garrus Vakarian was his unofficial uncle. Maxus was still too young to really understand the difference between war heroes and normal everyday people.

Thankfully, Garrus put in a word with the right people so that Derius could be based out of the Citadel until he was emotionally ready to be back out in the field. While there wasn't really any battles going on, there were still rebuilding efforts across the galaxy. The kid just wasn't ready to leave his brother again. Fortunately, the Primarch understood. It helps being friends with people in the highest places.

Which made her think of Liara. The asari was currently traveling with Javik in their new Shadow Broker base while Feron was considered the top dog in the operations.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, she turned to find Hackett staring at her. “Yes?”

“Nothing,” he said with a kiss to her knuckles.

She hummed in response. “Normandy ships out to Palaven next week.”

“We'll be joining you,” Hackett replied as the transport began to land.

“That so?” she asked with a smile. If she was honest, she was relieved.

“It wouldn't do for either of us to go without sleep,” he replied in jest before exiting the transport and moving around to help her out. “You are terrifying without sleep.”

“Oh, harr harr, Steven!” she said before laughing. So scary they laughed at her. Damn men


	12. Chapter 12

Prepping her gear, Shepard and team were talking strategy on certain maps in the arena. The roar of the crowd was near deafening as they were announced for the upcoming match. Shepard couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It’s like we’re goddamn celebrities,” Zaeed complained.

“Because you are, old man,” Shepard returned.

Zaeed chuckled roughly, “Had to be big damn heroes.”

They lined up waiting for the current charity match to end so they could enter the arena. Hackett and the boys were in the VIP section with her squadmates guests and family. The Councilor’s had likely joined them to represent their species for this match. Anderson for her, Vega, and Kasumi, Tevos for Samara and Liara, Sparatus for Vakarian, the new krogan councilor for Grunt, and the new salarian councilor in memory of Mordin. Apparently, the new dalatrass was the great niece of Mordin. And a huge supporter of Shepard. That definitely helped in the political setting.

The group walked out in pairs as they were announced.

_“Last but certainly not least, Reaper Advisor Vakarian, and Commander Shepard!”_

The crowd roared as the pair waved to the onlookers.

\--

“That was impressive, Shepard!” Derius said as she exited the sims.

“Thanks, kid,” she replied with a smile. She was tired. Very happily tired.

The walk home was pretty loud with all three boys talking ahead of them. Grunt seemed to talk to Derius as easily as he did with Max. Shepard really hadn’t been worried but seeing their easy comradery was soothing.

“Derius is wanting to join us on the Normandy,” Hackett whispered against her ear as they followed behind the boys into their apartment building.

“He’ll need to speak with his C.O.,” Shepard replied.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Hackett returned before they joined their children in the elevator.

When they entered their apartment, Shepard excused herself to go clean-up for dinner. She made her shower quick before returning to the men waiting for her down stairs. 

“I can’t believe Mom broke the scoreboard!” Max called as his older brothers brought food to the table that Gardner had made for them. 

They’d only maxed the scoreboard out. But that wasn’t a bad thing considering all the business that said they’d donate if her team done so. Easily twenty-five thousand credits in donations poured in as soon as they hit the mark. They’d kept their word. 

Dinner was a rather loud affair as the three boys talked excitedly about the arena. Derius was dying to participate but his doctor hadn’t cleared him yet. Max was just trying to keep up with the bigger brothers. 

Shepard was sure the boys would stay up talking for quite a while. 

\--

The following morning, Shepard awoke before Hackett. With her body back to being healthy, Shepard noticed she wasn’t needing as much sleep. Thanks to cybernetics, she was sure.

What she hadn’t expected was to find Derius in the room that held her home office.

“Good morning,” Shepard said as she passed her son on her way to her terminal.

“Shepard, you are so different than what I saw on the vids,” Derius said matter-of-factly.

“How so?” Shepard asked, genuinely curious.

She waited patiently while he sipped his turian coffee. “You’re forgiving, kind, generous, loving, and happy.” He paused for another drink. “All we saw on the vids was an unforgiving warrior with a glare that could scare the most battle hardened generals. My father was even intimidated through a screen,” he said with a small, raspy chuckle. “My mother wanted to meet you in person. She was Special Forces before I was born. I think you would have liked each other.”

Sitting down on the stool next to him, she replied, “I would have loved to meet her too, Derius.”

“You have holo’s all over your home of my family. Like they’re your family, like you’ve known them for years.”

Ah. So he was confused. Some things didn’t translate across species. “Humans keep holo’s of their loved ones, even those that have passed, as a memory.”

“But why my family, Shepard?” he asked quietly.

“I don’t want Max to forget where he came from. Who is family is, and by extension, my family.” Shepard turned his face to her, their eyes meeting, “I adopted Max. He wanted to keep your family name, and I agreed that it was a great idea. I didn’t want him to forget your parents…or you. We hung holo’s everywhere so that anytime Max turned around he would be comforted in knowing his family was with him.”

“That’s very gracious of you, Shepard,” Darius said as his shoulders relaxed.

“Then I found you in a hospital bed,” she continued. “Near starved and empty. But alive. And I couldn’t just leave you there and I couldn’t turn my back on you knowing your brother is my son. It isn’t right. So I opened my home to you, as well as my family.” Shepard smiled as she took his hand into hers, “And now I have three amazing boys. I have never in my life felt so fulfilled as I do now that you’re here.”

“Will you keep me from wanting to see my side of the family? What’s left of it, anyway?” Derius asked nervously.

“Of course not, son.” Shepard replied.

“My cousin sent me a message and I wanted to ask before I opened it. I honestly don’t know what family we have left besides a few cousins.”

“Will they try to take Max from me?” Shepard asked, her voice cracking slightly.

“No. My guess is they were in no position to take in a young one. Like I said, I don’t know the situation or the status of my uncle.” Derius informed her. “They would have taken him right away if they had been able.”

“Read your message, Derius. And I would love to meet your remaining family while we are on Palaven,” Shepard said softly as a soft rumble left her son. “Make sure they know that by extension of you and your brother, they are now my family.”

Derius chuckled roughly before he pressed his brow to Shepard’s temple. “I love you, too, kiddo,” she replied before hugging him and leaving him to read his family mail in privacy.

\--

“You have got to be the most amazing person I’ve ever met, Jane” Hackett whispered as she joined him in the kitchen near the coffee pot.

Wrapping her arms around his middle, she replied, “Too many families have been ripped apart by the war and I don’t want to see it keep happening now that it’s over.”

She sighed when he kissed her. Then smiled when he pulled back. “Coffee?” he asked as he presented a filled, hidden cup to her.

“Man after my own heart,” she said as she gratefully took the hot cup from his callused hands.

“That’s what I’m aiming for,” he replied with a wink before heavy footfalls signaled their oldest child to be up before she could come up with a reply.

He’d surprised her. That didn’t happen very often. Did he stay after his apartment had been repaired because he cared for her? Or was this a recent development? Shepard knew her life wouldn’t be the same if he left. She’d have missed him. His company, his calming aura. Caring for him felt natural to her. She sure hadn’t expected to fall for her commanding officer, but she seems to be falling rather hard. 

The remainder of breakfast held plans for the day once Derius and Hackett dropped Max off to school. Grunt would be doing some shopping for Gardner for their short stay on the Normandy. Gardner had insisted and Shepard just couldn’t turn down his offer. 

They’d be on Palaven for about a week, maybe a week and a few days. It all depended on how well all the talks went. Shepard wasn’t sure why she had to be there for the facial markings of barefaced turians. She figured it would be Garrus that needed to be there. But they had some kind of negotiations planned before some kind of ceremony. 

\--

Vala and Traynor trailed Shepard on the ship as Shepard went over manifests and inventory. Her crew were beginning to show up to man their stations and check their equipment. In four days’ time, they’d be headed out for a peacekeeping mission.


	13. Chapter 13

“ETA, Joker?” Shepard asked as they pulled out of the Citadel.

“Approximately twenty-seven hours, Commander,” Joker replied.

With their destination set and all hands at their station, Shepard left to make her rounds. It was a routine she could do in her sleep. Start at the helm and make her way down to the cargo hold. Her crew was eager to be there. 

“So…you and Hackett, huh?” Joker said cheekily as soon as Shepard stopped behind his chair. “Makes a lot of sense looking back through the years.”

“Oh?” Shepard as she crossed her arms under her breasts.

“Well, yeah! He called you nearly every day we were out in the field. Then, when we were with Cerberus, he messaged you here and there.” Joker explained. “Checking in on his favorite marine…” Joker waggled his eyebrows toward Shepard before adjusting his hat and returning to work.

Shepard chuckled before turning on her heel to continue her rounds. 

Overall, the crew were much more relaxed this go-around. Joyful even. 

She finished her rounds in the war room at the terminal that took up half of her time during the war. Numbers still flowed through but instead of numbers for the war and enemy placement, it was numbers in the recovery and those that most needed supplies. It showed what government was helping what colonies. 

From the look of her messages, she had quite a bit of work to do. It would be an hour before Hackett joined her, dropping her coffee off then getting onto a nearby terminal to do his work. They worked in comfortable silence, the only noise was the hums and beeps of the machines they were surrounded by, until dinner was called by Gardner. 

Dinner was surprisingly quiet. Her turian sons were adjusting to the new people while said people gushed over all three of Shepard’s children. Even Kelly made an appearance out of her work schedule to come greet the boys and grab her dinner as she returned to her temporary cabin to prepare the following days itinerary for the Admiral. Vala wasn’t far behind. 

The Primarch had been kind enough to supply a tutor while they were on Palaven so that Max wouldn’t fall behind in his classes. Max grumbled a little, like most kids do, until he was told he’d get to tour one of the sites that was currently being studied in their history course. Thankfully, the Geth and krogan that were Max’s security detail agreed to come along so they weren’t having to find someone last minute to keep an eye out on their child. Leaving the Citadel hadn’t been discussed in their negotiations.

After dinner, Shepard met Vega down in the cargo hold for some light sparring. Vega had undergone the intense training required of an N Special Forces soldier. He hadn’t earned the N7 rank, but N5 was still damn impressive in Shepard’s book. Especially since he’d had a crash course in everything Reaper. He’d learned a lot from his time on the Normandy during the war. And he kept his word taking the training seriously once the program began accepting trainees.

They traded punches and bantered for about half an hour before Shepard realized there was an eighteen year old looking at the pair in envy. 

“Derius, come meet your Uncle Jimmy,” Shepard said as she ducked Vega’s punch then spun and kicked his legs out from under him. 

“That’s cheating, Lola!” James said as soon as he sucked air into his lungs. “We really need softer mats.”

“Maybe you should stop hitting them then,” Shepard said with a chuckle as she helped Vega off the floor before turning to her son. “Have you ever sparred a human before?”

“No,” Derius replied.

“Uncle Jimmy here is going to teach you some blocking moves tonight,” Shepard said as her son stood next to her. “I’ve got a few more reports to get through before bed, so you two go easy on each other.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Vega said.

Pressing her brow to her sons temple, she whispered, “Just the basics, it gets easier to spar a human once you understand how we move.”

“Okay, Mom,” he replied.

Shepard returned to her terminal in the war room. “EDI, bring up the cargo hold cams in the center of the console here please?”

“Of course, Shepard,” EDI replied as the hologram disappeared and the security cams came to life. 

She turned up the volume as she read reports. It was just mundane things she had to get through but they needed to be done. She’d look up occasionally but she mostly just listened to Vega teach. He’d learned a lot in his training. He took to teaching easily. She knew Vega had a lot of potential. It took fighting next to the galaxies finest for him to step up. And he did in a big way. She was extremely proud.

And Derius…well he was a fast study. They’d already progressed to blocking combination moves. 

“It would seem our son has your thirst for education,” Hackett stated as he slid his arms around her waist from behind.

“I could feel his eagerness from across the hold. I figured I’d see how far James has come since training and give Der a little sparring,” Shepard replied as she leaned her head back against Hackett’s shoulder. “He’s nervous about reuniting with family.”

“Why would he be nervous?” Hackett asked.

“His family was anti-human at one point, though I’m not sure how long ago. And he called me ‘Mom’,” Shepard answered. “There’s a few surviving elders left in the clan. Too old to care for Max, and their cousins are about Derius’ age.”

“Not old enough,” He finished.

\--

They met Darius and Max in Life Support where they’d be bunking while on the Normandy. Shepard’s heart twisted a little being in here. The room remained empty during the war, an unspoken show of honor and respect to the man that once inhabited the room. The man that died saving a life. A life that saved the turian councilors life when the Citadel was under reaper control.

Pushing the thoughts aside, Shepard said goodnight to the boys before going down to check on Grunt. He ended up taking Zaeed’s old space since his old quarters were still set up for Javik. Once she made sure Grunt was settled, she finally made her way to her cabin. Hackett would join her once he finished his QEC call. 

It had been a long, enjoyable day. 

Officially, she was off the work clock, but until Hackett joined her, she had nothing to do but start on tomorrow’s messages. She was halfway through her third message when Hackett walked through the door. Closing down her omnitool, she watched him undress as he prepared for bed. He really didn’t talk much, and she was okay with that. 

Once he crawled under the lone blanket, Shepard called for lights out. EDI would wake them if they weren’t up before they hit the last relay. 

They watched the colors swirl and twinkle outside the observation window. It was beautiful. Between the calming light show and the warmth curled around her body, she fell asleep easily.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please ignore typo/grammar mistakes. I was rushed to post this on my way out the door!

Once Joker had his flight vector from Palaven control, Shepard rushed the boys into the observation room so they could see their home planet from the stars. Sure you could watch documentaries and see holo’s but seeing it right in front of you was a whole different experience. And from their lack of talking, Shepard hoped it was one they’d never forget.

“I’ve got to go get ready, Palaven isn’t easy on humans because of the sun. I’ll meet you on the CIC,” Shepard said before pressing her brow to both boys and making her way to the armory. 

The UV barrier Hackett and the rest of the crew would use would protect them, but Shepard was expected to show up in her signature N7 armor. But when she got to the cargo hold, Vega and Garrus were already armored and waiting for her. Garrus was always armored, but he changed into his newer set.

“Can’t be the only stylish one there, Shepard,” Garrus said as his mandible twitched in humor. 

Her guard dogs, it would seem. There were the protective sort, but Shepard didn’t mind. She always felt better with Garrus on her six. It would be good training for Vega when he had high profile people to escort.

"I can't believe this rumor about you and Hackett, Lola," James said as he clicked the last piece of armor into place.

"Why not?" Shepard asked as she pulled on her underarmor.

"Wait, it's true?!" Vega asked, his deep voice raising an octave unfitting a man his size.

She chucked as she began clipping her armor on. "Yes, it's true."

"Mierda," he whispered, his mouth hanging open as he stared, before he took a breath and shook his head, his humor returning as quickly as it left. "Think you can get me a promotion?" he asked, his eyebrows jumping up and down jokingly.

"Not a chance, James," She replied as she buckled the last piece into place. "You ready?" Shepard asked. At their nod she, she took the lead. “Then let’s go see how Palaven is fairing, shall we?”

\--

What she didn’t expect when she exited the Normandy was the turians with her son’s clan markings to be waiting.

“Mom, I didn’t know they’d be here,” Derius said nervously as his mandibles fluttered against his face.

With a nudge to his brow she calmed him. “It’s okay, son.”

Shepard nodded to the Primarch in a way he knew it would be a minute before she turned her attention back to the family standing off to the side. Max gripped her hand tighter as they made their way to his bloodline. 

“Commander,” an older turian said as he tried to stand with the younger turians aiding him. “I didn’t mean to surprise you, it is unfair for you. But I wanted to see if my blood was cared for, and I can see that they are.”

Shepard shook the offered hand before the man, not so gently, returned to his wheel chair.

“Please allow us to join you at your hotel for dinner so that we may catch up with the boys and get to know their new family,” the man asked.

“It would be an honor, Mr. Tobias,” Shepard replied.

\--

“Adrien, why was I requested to sit in on turian politics?” Shepard asked as they walked through the door to the Primarch’s office.

“That would be my doing, Commander,” an unknown turian said as he rose from a chair in front of the desk. 

“And you are?” Shepard asked as her mask fell into place.

“Castis Vakarian, or as my son would say, your turian father,” Vakarian, Sr. said with an outstretched hand while Garrus coughed awkwardly next to her.

“It’s nice to finally meet, Sir,” Shepard said while bypassing his hand and wrapping him in a hug.

The man grunted when Shepard’s armored chest met his, “Garrus did say you were a hugger.” 

She couldn’t help but laugh as they parted.

“And I suppose these young men are my grandchildren?” Castis said as he pointed to the group of males behind Shepard.

Quickly making introductions, and meeting Solana, Shepard sent her children and mate with Garrus’ sister so the four could sit down and get to business.

It turned out that they needed Shepard there on request of Aria. Shepard was requested to represent the turians, barefaced and tattooed, that fought out of Omega and surrounding areas in the Terminus. Aria could have just sent Grizz. He was one of her top dogs and a barefaced turian. Surely his voice was more important in this.

Of course working with Aria on any political matter was hush-hush. 

“We’ve got a few markings depending on where they came from,” Victus was saying as Shepard looked over the datapads. “They’ll be assigned the markings if they so choose to wear them.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Primarch,” Shepard replied.

“I thought that was what you’d wanted during the war, Shepard?” Victus replied, his mandibles wide in surprise.

“That’s not what she means, Victus,” Garrus interrupted as he looked over the same datapads Shepard had handed off to him. “Barefaced turians can’t help where they were born, much like Nihlus being born where he was. Then being required to take the markings of their birth can cause a lot of problems decades from now.”

Shepard nodded, “Everyone is peaceful now, but what happens when a family originating from the Terminus moves to Palaven? They will not be treated well, their children bullied.”

“What do you suggest?” Castis asked.

“Well, you can have a couple new designs for those who don’t have clans originating from here so that families wanting a new start can have one,” Shepard replied.

“You can also set up something to have their DNA traced to find clans of turians coming to Palaven, to give them more options,” Garrus said as he lay the datapads back on the desk. “That’ll allow them to blend in and have a better chance at a new life.”

“What about the others outside of the Hierarchy that wish to stay in the Terminus?” Victus asked.

Shepard grabbed the datapad holding three designs, “Offer them these. The color can be assigned to region if it’s that important for you to know specifically where they came from. Allow them to choose their own design from the ones you offer.”

“But they won’t come back into the Heirarchy,” Castis said.

“That’s the point, Sir,” Shepard explained. “We won the war because of all the different backgrounds, including those in the Terminus. Why exclude them because they are different?”

“Take the Normandy, for instance,” Garrus interrupted. “Filled with different species of various skills and backgrounds from a bounty hunter to an abused orphan. Vastly different, but one spirit.”

“I see,” Castis said as looked out the window in thought. 

“You’ve given us much to think about,” Victus commented before adding. “You two always do.” 

Castis shook his head from his thoughts, “We have three days to put your plans in motion before the hearing at the conclave. We’ll get it done. Now,” Castis stood, “You two go get settled into your hotel while we… _hammer out the details_ , as you humans say.”

\--

Without Vala, Shepard would be scrambling. 

“Your reservations at the hotel restaurant are made and I had them prepare the private dining area. Garrus and someone named Kasumi will be checking for bugs before you arrive,” Vala said as she handed over a datapad to Shepard with her daily work load.

“Thank you, Vala.” Shepard said with a squeeze to the elder woman’s hand. “Is there any family here you would like to visit?”

“Yes and I planned to do so as soon as my work is done for the day, unless you have need of me this evening?” Vala asked.

Shepard smiled, “No, I’m just spending the rest of the day with my family. Go ahead and go join yours.”

“Thank you, Commander,” Vala said as her mandibles spread in a smile. 

Turning back into the room after showing Vala out, Shepard’s omnitool pinged.

_[Shepard, while you’re on Palaven, some of my guards have been transferred into your service. They are highly trained and loyal. They will remain outside your room and join you when you leave._

_On a more personal note, our war orphans are many. Our youngest must come first and we’ve nearly found homes for them all. However, the older ones are far harder to find homes for simply because there were so many young orphans. There is a twelve, nearly thirteen year old that works in the lobby of your hotel that is in desperate need of a family. I know you have your hands full so I wouldn’t ask you to take him in, but please just keep him in mind if someone is looking to adopt._

_-Adrien]_

Oh, dammit. They knew just how to tug her heartstrings. Collapsing on the couch next to Hackett, Shepard brought her arm up so he could read the message as well.

“I love our apartment,” she said when his eyes met hers. “It’s the first permanent place I’ve ever had to call home.”

“Let me make some calls, Jane and see what we can do.” Hackett replied as he lifted himself from the couch. “You go down and collect our son.”

Her eyes filled with unshed tears before she chuckled roughly. Another son. “Will I ever get a daughter?” She called to Hackett’s retreating back.

Hackett turned long enough to say, “I thought Jack was our daughter?”

Shepard burst out laughing. Jack. Goddess how she loved that young woman. 

Standing, Shepard made her way to the door while the boys head were buried in datapads. If they’d heard anything about bringing home another boy, they pretended not to notice. 

As soon as Shepard opened the door, she was greeted with six guards. _Six!_

“Well, alrighty. I figure I’d have two guards but I guess Adrien worries too much,” Shepard said as she inspected her new security detail.

The oldest of the group bowed his head in respect, “You are his family and deserve no less than the Primarch himself, Commander.”

“I’m heading to the lobby to adopt another son. I’m assuming I will need to be escorted?” Shepard asked the eldest.

“Yes, Commander, the man replied with an amused flick of his mandlibles. “And how many sons will this one make, if I may ask?”

Shepard chuckled, “Four.”

“I have a daughter…” he teased.

“Perhaps we should arrange a wedding?” joked in return making the guard laugh loudly.

“I’m sure our children would enjoy that, Commander,” he returned before handing out orders to his men. “Let’s go collect this boy so he can get situated before dinner.”

To say she was nervous was an understatement. 

There were many people of various species in the lobby. And she was easily recognized in the armor she had yet to be able to change out of. The guards were silent as Shepard posed for holos and signed autographs for a group of asari maidens. It was amusing to see eighty year old people that were still children by their peoples standards. Lastly, she took a holo with the young asari’s teacher, a lovely matriarch.

Her guards immediately fell back into line as soon as the teacher escorted her charges towards the elevator. Shepard had no idea who she was looking for, except that the turian was young and male. That didn’t really help in hotel filled with so many young turians. 

_[What’s the kids name?]_ Shepard said in a private message to Adrien.

_{Kalan. If he has a last name, he doesn’t know it. Not unusual for barefaced turians.}_

_[If he’s willing, consider him adopted.]_

_{Thank you, Shepard. I’ll start the paperwork.}_

Approaching the front desk, Shepard asked for the young man.

She impatiently waited as the young man finished delivering luggage before returning.

Shepard stood off to the side and got a good look at him. His plating was a reddish brown and his eyes green. In fact, he looked a lot like Nihlus. He was malnourished, his plating dull, and he was a little on the short side for a turian. Nihlus had been also. 

“Commander, you asked for me?” the young man said as he halted before her, his fingers twisting nervously but his body straight and his head held high. He was presenting himself. How many times had he done this and been turned down because there was no room?

“It would seem, Kalan, that have I recently adopted a young man about your age,” Shepard saw his fringe deflate and his shoulders drop. He was prepared for rejection. The guards shifted behind her, likely uncomfortable with the display. “So, how about we go collect your things and I introduce you to the rest of your family,” Shepard said with a smile as Kalan’s face went from blank to confused. “Son.”

He stood frozen in his spot with his mouth hanging open and his mandibles slack. Shepard couldn’t help but chuckle softly before she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. His body shuddered as a keen vibrated her armor and filled her ears. 

She would miss her apartment, and having Anderson as her neighbor. But she supposed since two of her four sons were grown, they could still keep it and it would still be used. 

Nodding to the smiling receptionist, Shepard allowed Kalan to lead her to the staff quarters. They were small, only meant to be used for those members who were scheduled to be on call. The young man had very little to pack. A few trinkets and datapads. A single holo, likely of his mother, and exactly two other sets of clothing. 

That just wouldn’t do.


	15. Chapter 15

The dinner was going as smoothly as Shepard had expect it to. Derius had been nervous. Shepard didn’t understand separating the family if they weren’t capable of taking in one of their own. It was something that just didn’t sit right with her. And it would seem the Tobias family felt the same. They were relieved and joyful at the merging of the two families. Even Kalan had been taken in easily. Like he’d always been part of the family.

Shepard had sent a message off to Victus wanting a DNA test done for Kalan. He looked so much like Nihlus. Even his mannerisms seemed to reflect the late turian. Nihlus had been a decorated spectre, something even Palaven was proud of. Nihlus had even been added to the wall of the honored. It wasn’t until recently that Saren had been added, thanks to more understanding of the Reapers. His name was next to his brothers. If Kalan was a Kyrik, he deserved to know.

As it was Shepard told the young man they had plenty of time to decide what last name he chose to use.

Hackett and the elder Tobias hit it off easily. 

It was hours before the families parted ways with promises of staying in touch. Der and Max were happy and relaxed. Kalan really hadn’t left Shepard’s side, his talons either holding her hand or the fabric on the arm of her shirt. He was overwhelmed with such a huge, sudden change in his life. Max had done much the same thing. Derius was a little more accepting though Shepard thought it had more to do with age.

When they finally lay down for bed, Shepard was happily exhausted.

“Did you get your calls in? Figure out where to move our family?” Shepard asked as Steven slipped into bed next to her.

“I did,” he replied.

“And?” she asked after several moments of silence.

Steven chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush against him, “You’ll see when we get home, Jane.”

“Really? Leaving me in suspense?” Shepard asked slightly annoyed. Her annoyance quickly turned into a sigh as his lips distracted her. She wanted to fight, she really did, but she couldn’t resist his lips. Or the heat pooling in her core. “You win this round, Steven,” she whispered huskily as his hands skimmed her thighs.

Even his raspy chuckle made her shudder with desire.

\--

The meeting at the conclave went over far better than Shepard had expected. Though it would take several weeks for the DNA system to be up and running. But the Primarch promised Shepard that Kalan would be the first ran through to see if he had, at the very least, a last name to call his. Even if he chose not to use it, the option would be there for him. 

She was still in shock about a portion of the meeting:

_“The turian people would like to honor their greatest ally, Commander Jane Shepard of The Systems Alliance, for her honor, bravery, and justice. Not only for her actions during The Reaper War, but for her fairness and valor in the years leading up to the war. A warrior and a spirit of Palaven, Earth, and Tuchanka._

_Commander Shepard, please rise._

_In honor of your sacrifices and the sacrifices of your crew, which I have seen firsthand, I, The Primarch of Palaven, have approved a request brought to me from the people of Palaven to have a facial marking design made specifically for you. Only those you approve will wear the design of the Shepard clan.”_

_A design appeared on the large screen behind the officials._

_“The lines for the cheekbones, graceful like the Normandy, and on the chin to the bottom lip to represent the lines on your arm as well as your victory in uniting the galaxy. The three colors of the coveted N7 insignia you earned, Commander Jane Shepard of the Alliance. Black, the color of night and despair. Red, the color of the blood you shed on our behalf. And white, the color of renewal, a new era. All three together representing hope for the turian people._

_The only marking in the history of Palaven with multiple colors to also represent the various species that have served or are serving on your ship. And our only mobile colony. The Shepard clan of the Normandy colony._

_Do you accept our design and our invitation to join the ranks of Palaven?”_

_Her voice cracked with unshed emotion, “Yes, I do.”_

It was the highest honor Shepard had ever publicly received. Even becoming a Spectre paled in comparison. 

And the turians knew how to throw a clan painting party. There were three licensed facial marking experts currently setting up stations to paint whomever wanted to be painted in the Normandy crew. Much to Shepard’s surprise, they all chose to take Shepard clan marking. Most were having them tattooed on by the asari artists while very few chose paint. Joker and EDI were waiting in line to be painted since the tattooing process could easily fracture his bones. 

“EDI, couldn’t you change the appearance of your mobile platform?” Shepard asked as she watched the turian artists brush glide against Joker’s skin.

“Yes, but having it painted on my platform will allow me to replicate it much easier.”

After visiting for several more minutes, Shepard excused herself when she spotted her mate.

“Which one are you going to be taking, Admiral? Permanent or paint?” Shepard asked as she slid an arm around his waist.

“Are you inviting me into your clan, Shepard?” Hackett asked, his voice rough and his eyes demanding.

Shepard smirked, “By turian tradition, you became my husband when you left your marks visible to other people.”

“And by Shepard tradition?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her close to him.

Her mask falling, “You became my mate the second you put Max on your lap, the first time you said _we_ as his parents, the first time he called you dad…” she was interrupted by his lips crashing into hers.

She was smiling when he parted their lips. “I will be taking your permanent marks, Jane.” He kissed her again quickly. “Once that’s done, I will be updating my files, then I will have rings made…”

She didn’t get to hear the rest of his plans as they were both escorted to the asari artist’s chairs to be tattooed ahead of the waiting crew. 

The crew was cheering as soon as James made it known that Mr. and Mrs. Jane Shepard made it official. 

\--

A day for celebration, indeed, Adrien thought as he watched his dearest friend take the clan marking and making herself the head of her clan. A design he was proud to be part of. One his people would celebrate for years to come. 

There would be fakes, he knew, there always were. But it was hard to fake a colony marking. The paint was made with certain components. Each color holds a different key for the whole, just as he requested it be made. 

She more than anyone deserved such a high honor. And Adrien knew that those that served with her would carry her sense of honor and justice with them, and in turn, giving the same and expecting just as much as Shepard does for anyone that enters the clan. Her name would live long after her. That’s all that he wanted. That she never be forgotten. That her story, her losses, her triumphs would all be recorded in turian history as any great general would be. General Shepard of Palaven would go down as the greatest general in Palaven’s history. Primarch Adrien Victus would make damned sure.

He’d tell her of her new turian rank later. But today, today was a day of victory and celebration. 

Victus hoped that Anderson and Sparatus were able to pull off their surprise for Shepard. The Normandy would leave in the morning to return to the Citadel. The Councilors had less than two earth standard days to finish.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sadly, the last chapter.
> 
> I have several other fics in the works, like 6 or so, that I've been working on. I just kind of hop back and forth between fics so I have no clue when they'll be finished. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos! Y'all are amazing!

Shepard woke to fingers trailing over her naked flesh. They were officially on their honeymoon and Steven had the stamina of a turian. She was sore in the most wonderful places.

“I bought you something before we left Palaven,” Steven whispered as he presented a box to Shepard, his other hand tracing a scar on her shoulder blade.

It was a small box that he easily popped open with his thumb. Inside held a single band made of turian metal. It was beautiful.

“I had a hard time getting it in your size since turian fingers are larger than human fingers.” Steven chuckled. “I had to choose from the children’s bands.”

Shepard laughed as she rose and straddled his waist, presenting her hand to him to do the honors. 

“I had to get mine in the children’s section too, but they match.” 

She kissed him as soon as he slid the band into place, the box forgotten and tumbling to the floor as they once again consummated their union.

\--

As soon as the ship was in range, Vala put in an order for Kalan’s clothing on Shepard’s behalf. 

The surprise Shepard felt at seeing her crew wearing The Normandy markings gave her a sense of pride in her family. Being stowed away in bed with her husband had made her temporarily forget about the new additions to all their faces. Even Joker, the Grinch of the Normandy, wore them with pride.

The media would go crazy.

In all the excitement of returning to the Citadel, her updated marital status, and the crew’s hope of some shore leave that didn’t involve helping out anywhere, Shepard nearly forgot about the surprise Steven had for her. 

It took two hours once they docked for Shepard and family to finally be on their way home. Once she got Hackett alone, she’d ask him, she decided as the elevator stopped on their floor.

It was the smell of fresh paint that hit her nose as soon as the door opened. Then the loud “Surprise!” that bellowed from many old friends that had been awaiting their return.

“What’s this?” Shepard asked as she hugged Tali, then Samara. Down the line she went greeting her old friends and comrades. 

“Hackett called us,” Kasumi said with her secret smile on her lips. 

“For what?” Shepard asked as she glanced back at her husband.

“Well, first it was to welcome your newest brat,” Zaeed commented before grunting when Jack elbowed him, his newest tattoo hitting the light. Her squadmates accepted the honor of the markings. Shepard’s heart clenched in joy. 

“Then it was for your new clan marking,” Jack continued.

“And lastly, to celebrate your bonding,” Samara finished.

Shepard stepped back to introduce her children to her family, Liara gushing at the cuteness that was Max. 

“I have something to show you,” Hackett whispered as he pulled her toward the stairs. “When you left to go pick up our newest addition, I made some calls.” Hackett pulled her to a very new stair case on the second floor. “It turns out the space above us was a storage space the building’s owners used to store extra furniture that was left behind from the apartments they rent out. 

The scent of paint got stronger as they climbed the stairs. 

“I bought the large storage room, and almost half of the furniture that was in the room.”

“Steven…” Shepard whispered as the stairway opened up to a small sitting area. 

“We now have three more bedrooms and a basic multi-species bathroom to accommodate our turian children better,” Steven said as he gave her a tour of their third floor that he’d only seen holo’s of. “Grunt can have his room back, and our other three sons can have their own room. We will have one empty room….until you bring home another kid or finally talk Jack into coming to visit,” he finished with a chuckle.

She was crying, there was no denying it. “You did all this just so I didn’t have to live somewhere else?”

“Yes,” he replied as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

“And my crew down there?” She asked as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“They helped get it done before your return,” Steven said before kissing her gently. “The paint should be dry so how about we go tell our boys?”

The honorary aunts and uncle happily moved the boys into their rooms. Even Kalan had eased his grip on Shepard long enough to enjoy being spoiled by different species of people that already loved him completely. 

Then Jack started calling them her brothers. It warmed Shepard’s heart far more than she expected. The spare room would be Jack’s. Shepard knew she couldn’t bring in any more children. And five children was far more than she ever expected to have. 

They celebrated by taking the kids to the arena. This time of day meant there weren’t many people, so Shepard could get all of her kid’s in on the easiest setting to have a little fun. 

For the first time, Shepard didn’t join in the fun. She left that to her crew. She just watched from the VIP section with Hackett while her family went to war against Cerberus. 

Later, when the kids were exhausted and the family had to return to their duties, Shepard took her husband to bed. 

“I love you,” she said softly as she sank down on him.

“I love you, too, Jane,” he replied roughly as he held her forehead to his. “I always have.”

**EPILOGUE**

It turned out that Nihlus wasn’t Kalan’s father, but his brother. They had the same father. Upon hearing the news and learning of Nihlus Kyrik, Kalan decided that while he was proud to have a brother that died fighting, but he wanted to wear the clan colors of his new mother.

The painting ceremony was emotional for Shepard as she watched her son take her markings before the young man signed the official papers as Kalan Kyrik Shepard. In honor of his late brother and his new mother. 

The event was celebrated on Palaven with the Victus, Vakarian, and Tobias families in attendance. All celebrating the newest member of their family.

It turned out that the daughter of the eldest guard, Klaven, had her eye on Shepard’s eldest turian son. The guard and Shepard shared a knowing look. Perhaps they would plan a wedding for the pair.

Grunt decided he was far too young to start a family, saying his mother was too young to be called ‘Grandmother’. Shepard could only laugh. That was a name she would be proud to carry one day. 

Jack visited often, even going so far as to call Jane and Steven, ‘Mom and Dad’. 

Maxus was working hard at school, his current dream was becoming a doctor. Though last week it was a scientist. 

And Kalan, he was insanely brilliant. He flourished in school, surpassing many children his age.

Shepard couldn’t be more proud of her family. Even more so since Ashley’s newest addition, Kaidan Vega, came into the galaxy soon enough for them to be here. 

Looking out over her family from her elevated seat, Shepard couldn’t help but feel complete. Her heart more full than she ever imagined, and a job she loved. No war, no hate, far less fighting. 

“I hope this peace and love continues for a millennia,” Hackett said as he took his seat next to her.

She couldn’t help but sit in his lap just to feel his heartbeat against her hand. “And thereafter,” she replied quietly as they looked upon their new life.

“And thereafter,” he repeated softly as he wrapped his arms around her and anchored her to him.


End file.
